


Azure Bonds

by skaianDestiny



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening, RWBY
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-17
Updated: 2016-04-13
Packaged: 2018-04-09 19:43:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 31,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4361825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skaianDestiny/pseuds/skaianDestiny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Robin awoke in a random field after defeating the Fell Dragon, she expected to see a blue-haired smile and a welcoming hand. Instead she found an empty sky and creatures of darkness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> While I've written quite a bit before, this is my first published fiction. I've always loved RWBY for its world and characters and fight scenes, and a month ago I finally got Fire Emblem Awakening and fell in love with its own memorable characters. Reading some great FE:A fanfiction certainly helped as well. So I decided to drop a certain tactician into a world of twisted creatures and soul magic bullshit. Hopefully you'll enjoy it. 
> 
> I've decided not to add certain pairing tags as they'll spoil the story. I do hope you can forgive this.

When she first opened her eyes, Robin saw a blue sky.  
  
It may have been because she was feeling like _pain_ all over, but she felt an ache in her heart as she stared upwards. She imagined a smiling blue-haired face and a bright-eyed blonde staring down at her, a kind and welcoming hand reaching out for her to grab on…  
  
And then it was gone, carried away by the wind.  
  
She closed her eyes. She wanted to stay there and never wake up again, not until she saw that face again.  
  
Dry lips parted, a voice hoarse with disuse croaked, “H-heh…leave it to Chrom to be late.”  
  
As she slowly mustered the strength to sit up, her thoughts drifted to another blue-haired beauty.  
  
Lucina.  
  
She felt her eyes water as tears threatened to leak out. Her dear sweet Lucina. She could only imagine the heartbreak Lucina must have suffered when she sacrificed herself to stop Grima. And Morgan, how could she forget her beloved son? It pained her to think that his energetic-self would be dampered with her disappearance.  
  
“I’m sorry Morgan, Lucina, but it had to be done…For the safety of the future…” she said to herself more than anything. What would the future be if she hadn’t made the choice? Would the selfishness of being with her friends, with her family be worth the uncertainty brought by Grima’s survival?  
  
The temptation to lie back down spiked, but she pushed herself into a sitting position when she felt cool metal on her left hand. A steel sword. This galvanized her into actually looking around her surroundings. Soft grass waved in the subtle breeze, and massive trees towered around the clearing like eternal sentries. In the distance she could see white-capped mountains seeming to be as immobile as…well, a mountain.  
  
_I just woke up in some godsforsaken forest, I think I can be forgiven for not sounding like one of Owain’s ‘masterpieces,’_ Robin thought to herself with a slight smile.  
  
The smile abruptly disappeared once she thought of her melodramatic companion. The feeling of solitude, of desolation wormed its way through her heart. Oh how she wished for a familiar face. Hell she’ll even take Inigo’s flirting.  
  
On a whim, she yelled out, “Okay guys, it would be a great time for all of you to surprise me by coming out now!”  
  
As expected, no one responded.  
  
She let out a deep sigh. “Well, I guess I can’t expect them to know the exact location and time when I came back. Still, it would have been nice to see a friend.”  
  
Robin picked up the sword, the familiar and worn-out grip fitting her hand perfectly. This was the same sword she woke up with all those years ago, with some upgrades of course. It, along with her signature Plegian cloak and very first tome, covers now worn and faded with repeated use and patch-worked pages from many nights of painstaking repair, was one of her few possessions she treasured with her heart.  
  
The other was her ring.  
  
Almost panicking, she pulled off her glove. An assuring glint off her finger greeted her, and she sighed with relief. If she lost it…  
  
Robin suddenly realized the ambient sounds of nature had gone quiet. A low growl caused her to turn around.  
  
The snarling visage of a wolf greeted her, emerging from the dark forest. Her hand reached for her sword, absently noting there were additional tomes scattered around. If it was just one wolf, she could take care of it easily, but that was the thing wasn’t it? Wolves never came alone.  
  
As if to emphasize the thought additional growls echoed around her. More of the wolf’s companions entered the clearing, no doubt ready to pounce on an easy prey. Internally she cursed herself for being so stuck in reminiscence and self-pity that she didn’t notice her surroundings. _Good job Robin, you lead a crack team of the most talented warriors in the entire world to kill a continent-sized Evil Dragon and how do you die? To a random pack of wolves_.  
  
Her mind, the greatest asset the Shepherds ever had and her distinguishing characteristic, went into overdrive, trying to make up for lost time. The clearing was roughly ninety feet in diameter and she sat in the exact center, giving her about a second of time to act if the wolves pounced. The only cover nearby was a large rock about twice the size of a horse. Running away was out of the question, they’d already surrounded her and she couldn’t outrun them on foot anyway. Her only option was to fight.  
  
Robin’s free hand hovered over a tome of fire spells. If she could launch an area attack, she could scare them off. A ring of fire would not only allow her to cut off any attempts to attack her, but it would hopefully be flashy enough to prove she was way more trouble than she was worth.  
  
As she slowly opened the tome, the wolves suddenly snapped their head to the side, their growling intensifying as they slowly started to retreat from whatever agitated them. Curious, Robin turned to the source.  
  
It was an unnatural thing.  
  
Its physique was some twisted amalgamation of humanoid and canine qualities, its legs bent like that of a wolf yet hunched over as a feral human would. Its fur was a deep black, dark enough that even in broad daylight she almost couldn’t make out the details. To contrast, nearly pure-white bony spines thrusted themselves out of its arms, its back, its legs. On its head more of the bony material covered its face, giving the impression of a mask. An design of intricate red lines were inscribed throughout the mask, which Robin might have called beautiful enough to be done by an artist. And its eyes…  
  
Robin shivered as she gazed into the blood-red eyes, and almost as if in response the beast snarled. Eyes that seemed to stare into her soul; that despite everything she went through in the recent years pinned her like an unblooded peasant facing down a charging mounted knight line. Eyes that held intelligence behind them, of a thinking being. Eyes that spoke of an unimaginable, unspeakable amount of pure _hate_.  
  
A distant part of her mind noted that the wolf pack she had been so worried about had already fled.  
  
Seemingly tired of the standoff, the beast pounced, letting out a roar as it lept into the air, claws outstretched to slice her in two. It was a testament to her skills honed by years of combat that Robin was able to shake herself out of her stupor and roll out of the way. She felt the heavy _thwump_ as the beast crashed down to where she was standing just seconds ago, and it was already turning to her and readying another swipe.  
  
Robin dodged to the side, and with a bit of wind magic pushed herself and the beast farther apart.  
  
Snarling, the beast lunged forward, attempting to crush her with its own body. Once again she rolled out of the way, and while the beast was attempting to stop its momentum, Robin aimed her own sword attack at the beast’s exposed back, hoping to strike somewhere vital. With all of her might, Robin swung her sword.  
  
_Thunk!_  
  
To her surprise, her sword only embedded itself an inch into the beast’s hide. Turning its head to her, a wet snarl on its tongue, the beast retaliated, its claw grazing Robin’s arm.  
  
_Pain_ exploded in her limb. Robin bit back a scream as she leapt back to avoid another of the beast’s swings. Now she didn’t have her sword, not that it seemed to do much anyway. She certainly wasn’t the strongest physically of the Shepherds, but she expected her attack to do more than piss it off. _What is that thing made of?_  
  
Positioning herself between the rock and the beast, she was rewarded when another of the beast’s lunges caused it to _crash_ into the rock. Now that she had some breathing room, she pulled out her oft-used electric spells, Elthunder.  
  
As the beast was recovering, Robin chanted the necessary words, the tome responding by enveloping her hand in electricity and surrounding her with glowing sigils. With a cry of “Elthunder!” a bolt of lightning was unleashed from her hand and struck true, hitting the beast in the shoulder and throwing it back.  
  
Despite this, the beast was apparently still not finished, attempting to stand back up on shaky legs. It let out a growl as Robin channeled yet another Elthunder, charging her in an attempt to stop her before she could complete another attack.  
  
Robin was quicker, her bolt of lightning striking the beast square in the chest and arresting its momentum. It landed in a heap just less than a foot away from her.  
  
With the immediate threat now over, Robin braced herself on her knees, the adrenaline subsiding as she panted from the exertion. Between gasps she breathed out, “Heh, I still got it.”  
  
Robin winced as she felt her injured arm blossom in pain once more. Blood was already staining her cloak. With her other hand, Robin reached into a specific compartment of her cloak, hoping that she would find it…There! She pulled out a vulnerary and gulped down its contents. Already the pain was dulling, though it will be a while before the wound was fully healed.  
  
With her arm now in workable condition, Robin went to pull out her sword. With a grunt, it slid free, however Robin noticed little specks of black floating away from it. Kneeling next to the corpse to get a better look, Robin could see the entire body was releasing flakes of black dust and smoke, with a lot more coming from the small wound that she inflicted on the beast. The beast was disintegrating before her eyes.  
  
She couldn’t help but compare it to the Risen.  
  
Even the wound was peculiar. Instead of blood or fleshy muscle, under the black hide it was…just red. It had no texture, just a solid mass of crimson material. A cautious touch confirmed that it wasn’t wet. Robin looked to her sword, dread starting to boil up. The blade was spotless. Not a single speck of blood marred its form.  
  
Just like the Risen.  
  
She recoiled, leaping to her feet as her mind processed the implications. The beast was clearly not natural considering its corpse was evaporating and that it didn’t seem to follow ordinary biology with the lack of blood. The way the wolves retreated from the thing implied that they have encountered more beasts like it. The beast’s visage was clearly meant to instill terror, and its pure red eyes brought to mind the Risen’s own glowing ones.  
  
Were these beasts some form of advanced Risen? Ones not constrained to a humanoid form? But…that didn’t make sense! She sacrificed herself to kill the Fell Dragon. It would only make sense that the death of Grima would end the threat of the Risen as well. Was her sacrifice in vain? Was Grima still out there? Did…did she cause her family so much grief for nothing? Panic started to set in as she ripped off her other glove, the one that had the Mark of Grima.  
  
It wasn’t there.  
  
Unfortunately it didn’t calm her down. If Grima was gone, then why were things that looked and acted and died like Risen running around? There had to be some connection between these two, the number of similarities between them were were too numerous to ignore.  
  
She suddenly thought of the difficulty she had fighting the beast in melee. As one of the Shepherds her fighting ability was leagues above the average soldier. If she had to resort to magic to make any meaningful headway against the beast, then the vast majority of the armies would be nothing more than fodder. Magic users were relatively rare and only comprised at most a fourth of any armies. Even amongst the Shepherds, the number of tome-users including herself and Morgan could be counted on two hands. Even if they had a numbers advantage, any encounter with even one of the beasts would end with significant casualties.  
  
She whipped her head up at the sound of a twig snapping, getting into her own signature form, sword in one hand and tome in the other.  
  
With grim satisfaction Robin confirmed that there were in fact more of the beasts. There were roughly a dozen of them, though the way they kept shifting between each other made getting a clear count challenging. _Were they doing it deliberately?_ These ones seemed a lot more…cautious than the first beast. _Do they know what I’m capable of?_ The way she felt some of them glare at the tome she held seemed to say yes. _Perhaps they have some sort of hivemind…that is a terrifying thought_. If they could learn from the mistakes of others even if they weren’t present, it meant the same tricks wouldn’t work twice.  
  
Once again Robin found herself outnumbered by a superior foe. Once again she felt herself longing for her companions, for someone to watch her back. _Heh, Tharja would probably have some hex to get out of this situation_. She took solace in the fact that unlike the pack of wolves earlier, at least she wasn’t completely surrounded.  
  
She’ll have to depend on her spells if her performance against the first beast held true for these ones. Elthunder and the other spells of its level won’t kill them fast enough before they overrun her with numbers. Arcthunder should be able to fell them in one shot.  
  
Then as if to mock her, _it_ came.  
  
It was another of the wolf-beasts, however even hunched over it towered over the others. More bony spikes jutted out of its back and shoulders, and with each step Robin felt the very ground tremble. Like subjects to a king, the smaller beasts parted before the giant. It regarded her with cold, calculating eyes, before rearing on its legs and letting out an ear-splitting howl that was joined by its kin.  
  
In response, Robin could only utter, “Well shit.”


	2. Grimm

In all honesty Robin couldn’t say this wasn’t the largest thing she fought. The prize had to go to that giant Risen the Shepherds encountered in that one town they were resting at. Grima didn’t count because _it was fucking Grima_.  
  
Still, she had the aid of her loyal friends, two of whom held the Falchion, against the colossal Risen. Here she was alone.  
  
_Okay Robin, focus_. She doubted the stare-down would last much longer. The smaller beasts were getting antsy, and even if she could use the Falchion she doubted her odds in a war of attrition.  
  
Whatever miniscule chance her sword had of being a major part of her plan shriveled up and died with the appearance of the large beast. If the giant’s resistance scaled up from the smaller ones, then even her tougher spells would have some difficulty.  
  
There was a key difference between the situation with the regular wolves and these mockeries of wolf and man. The wolves had her stuck in the middle, forced to fight on all sides. Here she was at one end of the clearing while the wolf-beasts were on the other. Plenty of space and room to run away.  
  
A good tactician always knows when to retreat.  
  
A _great_ tactician knows how to make that retreat _good_.  
  
Robin couldn’t just turn tail and run. She’ll need to stall the beasts and allow herself a head start. Electricity pulsed around her fingers as she readied a spell.  
  
The wolf-beasts crouched as they prepared to pounce.  
  
“Arcthunder!”  
  
A great boom of thunder heralded the unleashing of a powerful lightning spell. It crossed the distance in an instant, striking her target in the chest. The massive beast was staggered back from the force of the spell, sparks of lightning jumping from its form. Unfortunately it didn’t seem to do lasting damage, as the beast quickly composed itself and howled, signalling the smaller ones to charge.  
  
By then Robin had already conjured another spell. This time it was fire that played around her hand as sigils glowed in the air surrounding her. With a shout, the ground between her and the beasts erupted, the grass burning to a crisp spreading the hungry fire forward. From what she could see through the flames, the smaller beasts had skidded to a halt and were slowly backing away from the advancing fire.  
  
Satisfied with her handiwork, Robin fled into the forest. Hopefully she wouldn’t encounter more of these things before she found civilization.

* * *

 Robin grunted as she avoided another swipe of a claw. The air around her once again lit up as she thrusted her tome forward.

  
“E-Elfire!”  
  
The beast was thrown back as the burst of fire struck it dead-on, its body set alight. Robin slumped against the cliff face panting and clutching her left arm, her sword, broken once more, hanging limply from her hand. With the coppery taste of blood in her mouth, an all-too familiar feeling, she peered at her aggressors.  
  
Robin must have done something to piss off the gods, because she had been accosted by more of these monsters for what must have been half an hour. Despite it being a life or death situation, she wondered if Naga was angry because she accidentally destroyed one of the goddess’s icons while fighting some bandits.  
  
“H-heh…damn that hurts…”  
  
Once again her sword arm had suffered injury while fighting one of the beasts, a large bear-like creature. Not only were there more types of beasts, but despite the sometimes huge disparity in physical appearance they worked together, coordinated their attacks and herded her into the cliff. It only brought more questions to their origin and their purpose that Robin was increasingly sure she’d never be able to solve.  
  
They were probing her defenses, and they knew she was faltering. She had used up or even lost many of her tomes in the skirmishes between herself and the beasts, and her sword was nothing more than a handle after a clash with a boar-like beast. One of the larger wolf-beasts ran forward and received a severed forearm for its troubles, courtesy of a blade of wind sent from her tome.  
  
A massive bear-beast trundled forward, the many spikes on its back reminding Robin somewhat of a porcupine. As she started the chant for an Arcthunder, Robin realized the magic wasn’t responding, not a single glowing sigil appearing around her. With a sense of finality Robin opened her last remaining tome. Not a single page left.  
  
She dropped the now worthless cover. So this is how it ended. Alone. Surrounded by what seemed like demons from hell. She always knew it was likely she’d die in battle, but after she had met the Shepherds and joined them as a comrade-in-arms, had married the love of her life and met her beautiful child, she hoped that if her end had indeed come on the blades of an enemy, it would be surrounded by the people she loved, the friends she’d grown to care for as much as family.  
  
Now she doubted they’d even find her body.  
  
“I-I’m s-sorry Chrom, Lissa, M-Morgan…Lu-Lucina…” They’d still think she’d be coming back. That she’d see them at least one more time. Now she was nothing but a liar. “I…I’m sorry for b-breaking my promise.” She realized the wetness on her face wasn’t blood.  
  
With her remaining strength she forced herself up. She’ll face death standing like a Shepherd. The bear-beast had reared onto its hind legs, its growling nearly drowning out the rest of the sounds of the rest of the beasts. Idly she wondered if this was some sick revenge for relishing that bear meat her first night with the Shepherds. Staring defiantly into those blood-red eyes, a sudden morbid impulse ran through her.  
  
“H-heheh, it looks like this is checkmate.”  
  
She giggled at her stupid in-joke before wincing from the pain in her ribs. Unfortunately her audience didn’t seem to find the humor in it, and raised its massive paw with a roar.  
  
Robin closed her eyes, conjuring up memories of her family.  
  
_Goodbye, everyone._  
  
The clawed paw swung down.  
  
The sound of flesh being struck echoed throughout the forest.

* * *

 Robin cracked open her eyes.

She was still alive.  
  
The bear-beast was still in front of her. Its claw paused mid-swing.  
  
There was a sword sticking straight through the beast’s chest.  
  
Robin could only stare at it with numbed confusion. For its part, the beast appeared to be perplexed, as if it couldn’t comprehend that it had been run through.  
  
It lasted for all of a second before the beast was pulled, no, _thrown_ back flailing through the air. Such was its speed that Robin had barely comprehended it was gone before it had already made it to the edge of the clearing. Just as the beast had reached the edge of the forest it was split in two, bisected vertically near-perfectly. Like the curtain of a stage revealing the main character, the two halves parted to reveal a kneeling silver armor-clad figure, sword to the ground and a massive red shield at their side.  
  
Turning to the new player, the assorted beasts growled, and Robin almost thought they sounded…disappointed? Angry? The person, for it could not have been yet another beast, rose to his full height. Robin would have whistled in appreciation if she wasn’t in so much pain. With his chest puffed out and shield standing stalwart at his side, the man certainly cut a heroic figure. Upon closer inspection, his sword didn’t match the blade that pierced the beast’s body. No, from the bottom of his massive shield a blade of similar gravitas emerged.  
  
The man was saying something, but she couldn’t hear.  
  
And then out of the forest three more figures emerged, noticeably younger and much to Robin’s surprise not wearing much in the way of armor. While the clothing styles themselves were unfamiliar, these children seemed to be dressed for a Sunday out with friends, not fighting the twisted incarnations of animals.  
  
The girl who stood closest to the armored man had shoulder-length hair that reminded her so much of Morgan’s own if he grew it out. She wore a light azure shirt overtop what she assumed was a grey sweater. The shirt was tucked under a darker blue waist-high skirt reaching her mid-thigh. Underneath her skirt, the girl had knee-high black boots with gold trimming. The only thing that seemed vaguely like armor was a black chest guard covering her left breast and shoulder. On the chest guard was a blue symbol, though she couldn’t make out any details.  
  
She held a rather unconventional shortsword—was that an additional handle she saw in lieu of a crossguard? From what Robin could make out of her expression, the girl seemed calm and serious, not unlike Lucina once she was in the thick of battle.  
  
The shortest of them had light brown skin and deep green scruffy-looking hair. Perched on either side of his head were two…were those dog ears? Did canine taguel exist? _I’ll have to ask Panne later_. His clothes consisted of a brown vest and green shirt with a pair of light tan shorts held up by a belt. To his sides were a couple of dark green pouches, and his feet were covered by two brown boots.  
  
In his hands was a massive peculiar-looking sword almost as tall as he was. The blade was rectangular with what seemed lick black trapezoids sticking out of the sides. The boy swiveled his head as he took in their opponents while speaking something to the tall girl next to him, who shook her head.  
  
The tallest of the new arrivals, though shorter than the armored man, had on an outfit more suited to dancing at a theater than fighting mockeries of nature. Even Olivia had donned armor when she had to wield a blade. Nevertheless, Robin had to admit it was a beautiful dress, a wide-necked alabaster blouse whose sleeves puffed out just before her elbows. Covering her forearm were elbow-length gloves ending in frills. A white skirt flared out from her waist, stopping at her knees in beautiful folds. Covering her long legs were black tights that matched her dark waist-length hair.  
  
Held in her hands was a long silver and gold staff whose ends were tipped with blades reminiscent of those spears from Chon’sin. The girl shifted into a ready stance, the staff flawlessly twirled around to her side, marking years of practice.  
  
The beasts growled, snarled, screeched at them. Their dark forms tensed up as they anticipated blood.  
  
The armored man, whom she decided to call “Knight,” gave a short signal, a quick nod of the head and a simple one-word command, and they leapt into action.  
  
The blue-haired girl, imaginatively nicknamed “Blue,” was the first to meet the beasts. One of the larger spiky bear-beasts lunged at her, and Robin expected Blue would duck under the clearly choreographed attack. To Robin’s surprise Blue lashed out with her own sword, neatly slicing the bear-beast’s paw off. As the beast was reeling from the blow, Blue followed up with a flurry of slashes driving the beast back further until she finished the beast off with a neat decapitation.  
  
Undeterred from their brethren's swift demise, a pack of wolf-beasts charged at Blue, leaping into the air intent on cutting her down. Blue responded by swinging her sword in a wide arc, unleashing what Robin could only describe as a blade of blue energy.  
  
Five wolf-beasts leapt into the air. Ten wolf-beast halves met the ground.  
  
Blue’s companions weren’t doing bad either. Green had launched himself an impressive height into the air, bringing down his sword in an overhead swing that cleaved a beast clean in two. Intent on avenging their fallen comrade, more beasts lunged at Green, who simply smirked and shifted into a batter’s stance. He swung, striking the closest one square in the face with the flat of his blade, launching it backwards with a yelp into another beast.  
  
Without pausing, Green brought his sword down in a diagonal slash that easily cut cleanly through another beast. Planting his sword to the ground, Green spun around to kick another before using the momentum to bisect a third one at the waist. Within seconds the remains of the beasts laid mangled on the ground releasing the sickly black smoke into the air.  
  
Whereas she would describe Green’s fighting style as crude, his taller companion, White, seemed to take her “dancer” appearance and extend it to her fighting style. In a word: elegant. Her staff never seemed to cease twirling, spelling death for any of the creatures who dared to go near. After neatly decapitating a gorilla-beast, White used her staff to vault over the ring of beasts closing in, planting her feet on the back of a bear-beast and launching herself further toward Robin.  
  
As she twisted through the air, Robin saw her pull apart her staff. She now held two swords in her hands, the handles appearing to retract as she disarmed, literally, a wolf-beast as she landed. Once again blending beautiful footwork and elegant dancing with implements of murder, White became a whirlwind of death, and beasts found themselves limbless and soon headless whenever they sought to attack.  
  
And as for Knight, he was as indomitable as Kellam and Kjelle were. Unlike the others, he had made a beeline for Robin’s position. The creatures not intercepted nor cut down by his companions were pushed aside, launched back into the waiting blades of the others. The more (un)fortunate ones saw themselves dealt with by the man himself, a simple and efficient slash and they were but dust in the wind. Knight was barely even slowed down by their efforts, none able to penetrate his indomitable shield, and the term “unstoppable force” flitted through Robin’s increasingly dizzy mind.  
  
One of the beasts had deigned to ignore the assailants and turned toward Robin, intent on finishing off their harried prey. Robin grimaced as she attempted to lift the remnants of her sword to try and block a claw as long as her fingers, but the gesture was unneeded. Knight’s shield spun on his arm so the massive blade faced the same direction as his hand, and the blade was sent flying, a deadly projectile that easily punched through the wolf-beast’s body. For a split second, Robin could see the long chain that connected the creature to Knight. _So that’s how he does it_. She’ll need to ask how the launching mechanism worked.  
  
Knight only paused in his charge to swing the chained beast like a living flail, swatting away its brethren like discarded toys. After retracting his sword and sending the poor beast flying into the depths of the forest, Knight made a running leap for Robin, surprising her by the distance he was able to cover despite his armor and shield.  
  
Glancing back to her, he asked in a voice that screamed “grandfather,” “You alright, miss?”  
  
Despite her stunned state from the _everything_ happening, despite the sudden fatigue from the loss of blood, Robin couldn’t help but snark, “Oh I’m peachy, decided to try for a new look: covered in blood.” She tried to give a cheeky grin, but it quickly morphed in a grimace as the pain in her arm suddenly flared up.  
  
Knight smirked as he made a “hmph.” “Well if yer lucid enough ta joke about yer wounds, then I think you’ll be fine for the next few minutes while we clean up these Grimm.” As if to punctuate his statement, a beast met its end as Knight cleaved it in half.  
  
Grimm? Well at least she finally had a name for these horrid monstrosities other than variations of “beast.” From what she’s seen, it was a fitting label.  
  
With her safety assured, Robin focused on the others, observing her saviors in action. From the practiced way they slaughtered the beasts—no, Grimm—this group has been fighting the creatures for an extended time. This raised questions such as _where the fuck was she_? Despite their many travels, the Shepherds had never encountered these Grimm, and certainly if there were beasts that had similarities to the Risen the Shepherds would have at least heard rumors. Another question, a more traitorous question asked _when did she wake up_? Did she wake up far in the future? Were…were all her friends and family long gone? The thought made her despair, the thought that she had indeed returned but far too late. That she left her loved ones alone until their dying day. That Morgan would never see his mother again.  
  
More Grimm leaked in from the forest. Her saviors, excluding Knight who stayed near Robin, arranged themselves into a loose semicircle to fend them off.  
  
Robin clamped down on that thought. _No, I’m sure Naga wouldn’t let that happen, that would be too cruel_. She took a deep shuddering breath as she closed her eyes. _Enough ruminating on what might be, focus on the battle raging around you_.  
  
As she opened her eyes once more, her mind, honed by many, many hours of combat, went into overdrive to analyze the fighters around her. From the initial confrontation, it was clear that these people were very skilled, pulling off maneuvers and acrobatics she’d only seen Lon’qu, Say’ri, or even Chrom and Lucina perform. At such a young age, it pained her heart thinking about the circumstances that forced these children to learn how to fight so well. She couldn’t help but draw parallels with Lucina and her companions, and Blue’s hair didn’t help matters.  
  
How they were effortlessly cleaving apart the Grimm where she struggled to even injure one was another mystery. She’ll admit she wasn’t the strongest physically—her talents lay in the magical arts—but she was no Ricken, and the time she won against Sully in an arm-wrestling competition was a fairly joyous moment. Still, even White, who was the most scrawny of the four, could trivially split a wolf Grimm in half. From the azure blade Blue unleashed, the logical conclusion was that the weapons were magical. A stray though wondered if the weapons had names. Another answered if they didn’t Owain would have gladly thought of a “grandiose name befitting of such a legendary and powerful artifact of yore.” She couldn’t help but smile at that.  
  
In any case, the weapons and their wielders would have been either a welcome asset or a challenging obstacle. She was only grateful they were pointed at beasts from hell, and not her. Still, this was nothing she wasn’t used to.  
  
And then fucking _bullshit_ happened.  
  
A screech drew her attention to the skies. A small part of her hoped it was Minerva, but almost immediately she squashed it. It was too different, more of a demonic crow than that of an airborne lizard. Indeed, it was the large raven-like Grimm that she occasionally saw soaring above the canopy. She had taken care to avoid open air after she had spotted it, but she had been forced into the clearing besides the cliff by the Grimm. Another reason to be thankful for her saviors.  
  
The others had noticed the flying beast as well, as Green called out to Blue, “Kai! Nevermore!”  
  
Kai answered with a quick affirmative, and for a brief moment Robin wondered how she would take down the so-called Nevermore. She neither saw arrows or a tome on Kai’s person. While the blade she let out made an impressive distance, it was too slow to reliably hit the aerial Grimm.  
  
Kai grasped the handle on the rain guard of her sword, the blade splitting into two halves. They rotated around the rain guard to the sides, appearing like the limbs of a bow. The handle retracted into the rain guard, and Kai brought her hand to the bottom and seemed to pull out a glowing blue string as if she was drawing a bowstring. At the same time the front of the former sword glowed the same blue light. When Kai “released” the blue string, a bolt of blue energy was released, arcing toward the Nevermore.  
  
The Nevermore, seeing the threat, dived down to avoid the bolt. In response, the bolt curved downwards to meet the bird Grimm, striking in the back and sending it dropping to the ground.  
  
_What_.  
  
Quickly shaking herself out of her stupor, Robin surmised it must have been part of the weapon’s ability. It wasn’t unheard of, swords that could channel magic—levin swords were proof of that—but such a complicated design would have not only made maintenance harder but lessened the durability and strength of the blade itself since it was not one solid chunk of metal.  
  
Seeing the girl vulnerable, several beasts charged toward her, claws outstretched and maws wide open. Despite this fearsome display, Kai proved herself to be no slouch even with a ranged weapon in close-quarters, leaping over the beasts and launching more bolts of energy at them. Soon the Grimm were no more than disintegrating bodies.  
  
White had once again split her staff into the dual swords, spinning as a ballerina would and slicing apart Grimm that ventured too close. The area around her now devoid of aggressors, White pointed her sword horizontally at an approaching beast. Robin heard a bang and a saw a flash of light from the edge of the sword, and the wolf Grimm was staggered backwards before collapsing to the ground, its upper jaw and head now absent.  
  
Robin was still processing what happened when White threw her sword at a wolf Grimm, the blade embedding itself into the beast’s chest. Behind White, a bear Grimm swung a claw to cut her down, but it was for naught. One second White was under the shadow of the Grimm, the next she was on the struck wolf Grimm, a trail of ephemeral afterimages the only thing marking her movement. Had Robin blinked, she was sure she would have missed it. With another bang, White and the wolf Grimm were sent in opposite directions; the former flipping through the air and the latter suddenly missing a chunk of its chest.  
  
Taking a short breather to compose herself, White once again transformed into a whirlwind of destruction, now a storm of flashes and bangs. Grimm fell even outside melee range, and those that were able to withstand the barrage were cut down, cut apart by silver and gold swords.  
  
Robin’s mind was in a whirlwind. The twin swords White wielded opened up new mysteries, new questions that came rushing in, vying for dominance. The first to come to mind was the teleportation. This she could easily write off as an ability of the weapon. Teleportation, while rare, was still something she was familiar with. Many times she had used Rescue staffs as part of her strategy, sending her friends and companions into seemingly suicidal charges then pulling them back to safety while the enemy ran in disarray. The swords seemed to be a more refined version of that magic, White using them to quickly gain control of large portions of the field through throwing the swords and teleporting to them.  
  
Then came to the question of the miniature explosions she saw, for they couldn’t have been anything else. She was disinclined to think it was yet another magical ability, for this was too crude, too violent. Magic in almost every form had a certain grace to it. Even Mjolnir, one of the 12 Holy Weapons and the single strongest and most devastating lightning spell in the world, had a majesty to it, a sense of awe-inspiring might. This extended to dark magic as well; for all of its nastiness and typically vile nature, Robin admitted that dark magic too had a perverse beauty to it. Whatever was causing the small explosions was much mechanical, more physical. It clearly wasn’t the fire that emerged from the sword that was killing the Grimm, as the creatures well outside of its range were dying.  
  
Robin swayed as a wave of dizziness swept over her. Her injuries must be catching up to her. She slumped to the ground before she toppled over, and Knight must have noticed her distress as he yelled out to the others to hurry up.  
  
Swiftly decapitating yet another bear Grimm, he turned to her. “Sorry miss, they seem ta be a tad more riled-up than usual. Hopefully we’ll get this rabble cleaned up an-”  
  
“LOOK OUT!”  
  
Both Knight and Robin snapped their heads up at Green’s shout, and Robin’s eyes widened as she saw one of the many tall trees that made up the forest soar toward her like a thrown javelin. Knight quickly interposed himself between her and the projectile, but Robin was hard-pressed to think up a way how a man with a shield, no matter how impressive, could stop a what must have been a several ton object hurtling toward them. She flinched away as the tree struck Knight and a resounding _bong_ echoed throughout the clearing.  
  
Turns out he could stop a tree fairly well, the plant-turned-projectile falling to floor with a crash. For his part, Knight didn’t seem to have budged even an inch. _Okay, at this point they could pull out a pink unicorn that shoots Arcthunders from its horn and I’d accept it wholeheartedly. Of course, that could be the blood loss talking_. She was interrupted from further rumination on horned-equine armaments by a distressingly-familiar howl from the tree tops. The Grimm that had been accosting their little group suddenly ceased their mindless charge and fell back to the edge of the forest.  
  
The three teenagers exchanged wary glances as they shifted into ready stances. Kai looked back to Knight, a worried expression marring her brow. Knight gave a reassuring nod. “Keep together, cover each other. We’ll pull through this.”  
  
The three nodded in acknowledgement, solidifying their stances. Robin noted that Knight must have been highly respected by his companions if that simple statement was enough to boost their resolve. _Not unlike Chrom_ , she mused.  
  
The cracking of bark and agitated rustling of trees being forced aside marked the entrance of the massive wolf Grimm that had hounded Robin in the clearing she awoke in. A head the height of a man peeked out, its tooth-lined jaws bared in a snarl, and its trunk-like arms shoved aside actual trunks, felling them with near contemptuous ease. Just as it did in the clearing, the wolf Grimm reared and unleashed a massive howl, joined by the menagerie of its monstrous brethren to create a cacophony of terror.  
  
“…Well if anyone has any plan to fight this thing I’m all ears.” Green said as he tightened his grip on his sword. Robin noted a very slight quaver in his voice.  
  
“We stab it. Repeatedly. With our swords.” White provided.  
  
Green turned to his friend with an incredulous expression. “Gee, thanks Napoleon, I never would have figured that out.”  
  
Kai turned to say something to the two, but whatever she said was drowned out by the sound of more trees falling. After everything, Robin’s eyes only slightly widened at the sight of two massive scorpions emerging from the forest, the smaller Grimm parting for them. Their upper body was covered with the same white bony armor with the red markings, and their stingers were made out of a shiny golden material that would have been beautiful had it not been attached to a bloodthirsty beast. Despite their impressive size, they were still dwarfed by the giant wolf Grimm.  
  
Knight barked a brief laugh. “Miss, I’ve no idea how ya managed ta piss off a Giant Beowolf n’ a couple of Deathstalkers, but yer gonna need ta tell us when we get outta here. Sounds like a great story.”  
  
His confidence that they’d get out of this bind would have been perplexing if she didn’t have to deal with Vaike. In any case, the time for words was over, as the Grimm rushed forward to attack.  
  
Green’s sword folded in half as he gripped a handle that flipped out on the bottom. With a roar the weapon spat out the same fire as White’s own swords, the sound coming out as a staccato of steady _ratta-tatta-tatta_. Sweeping his weapon across the horde, the effects were immediate as Grimm were cut down. On the other side, Kai swung her sword in a horizontal arc, another blue blade thrown out to slice Grimm in two. White’s swords combined into her staff, and she swiftly killed any Grimm who dared to get near. Those who managed to leak through were dispatched with a single swing from Knight’s sword.  
  
Their efforts had managed to thin out the horde to half its number by the time the scorpions—the ominously named Deathstalkers—arrived at the front line.  
  
Green’s weapon didn’t seem to affect the Deathstalkers as much as it did the smaller Grimm, covering their bodies with their large pincers. Green switched his weapon back to its sword form, and leaped toward the scorpion Grimm, intent on bringing down a powerful downward smash. As he reached the apex of his jump a Beowolf slammed into him from his side, throwing the both of them away from the Deathstalker and leaving the left flank open. The Grimm flooded through, the Deathstalker making a beeline to Robin and Knight.  
  
Kai had barely fared better, pushed back toward White. The three of them had formed a tight circle to fend off the Grimm that surrounded them. Knight eyed the approaching beasts and aimed his sword at them. “Miss, yer gonna want ta cover yer ears.”  
  
Robin immediately comprehended what he meant, and raised her working hand to cover her left ear. A _boom_ and a wolf Grimm fell to the ground sans head.  
  
_Damn that’s louder up close_. Robin’s exposed ear rang from the loud sound, and even through her covered ear it was still deafening. More booms signalled the death of more Grimm, and then Robin cursed her injured arm as her open ear was assaulted by the roar of Knight’s sword.  
  
The three teenagers were holding their own, and no Grimm could land a solid hit on them. The giant wolf Grimm, who was staying back throughout the fight, suddenly crouched, a gesture not unnoticed by the trio. The ground shook as the giant Beowolf soared into the air, much, much higher than Robin thought it would. She felt her jaw drop at the astounding agility the Beowolf displayed for its size, and felt the ground shake and her teeth rattle as the giant Grimm crashed down to the ground fracturing the forest floor.  
  
The trio had barely managed to get clear of the Beowolf’s landing and they staggered and fell from the impact. Robin watched in horror as the giant Grimm swept a massive claw in an uppercut, catching Green and tossing him into the air. Just as quickly the behemoth’s other claw brought a bone-crushing blow that threw Green into the cliff above Robin, shattering the stone before he fell to the ground in a heap.  
  
Robin felt her heart sink. There was no way for the boy to have survived that. She felt her heart sink at the thought of someone, of a _child_ dying to protect her. She cursed her useless state and struggled to push herself up; this was why she led from the frontlines, why she willingly put herself in danger where other tacticians wouldn’t. She hated the idea of someone dying because of her orders, detested the thought that someone else got hurt on her behalf.  
  
Which was why she was shocked into stupor when Green pushed himself up, visibly in pain but still _alive_. Not only that, but there was little sign that he had been bashed aside by a claw as big as he was aside from disheveled and slightly torn clothing.  
  
“Damn, he hits like a fucking truck.” Green said between pants. “How can we even fight that thing?” Green stared at the giant Beowolf, who was engaged in combat with Kai and White. Kai was slashing at the Beowolf’s spiked forearms while White had extended the handle of one of her swords and was using it to stay on the Beowolf’s back, periodic bangs signalling her attacks.  
  
For its part, the giant Grimm barely seemed affected by the attacks, focusing on shaking off White.  
  
“Keep yer chin up lad,” Knight reassured his younger companion. “The three of you can take down that Beowolf. Jus’ remember what I taught ya.” A clang resounded as Knight blocked the stinger of a Deathstalker before he swiftly cut it off as the Grimm screeched in pain. “Now go! The girls need yer help!”  
  
Punctuating his statement the giant Beowolf had managed to smack Kai away with a backhand, and was reaching toward White. Green yelled out an affirmative and raced off, knocking aside Grimm who sought to impede him. By the time he had reached the wolf Grimm it had already pried off White and was grasping her with its paw, her head and shoulders just peeking out and her face contorted in pain and exertion.  
  
Green yelled out something as he swung his sword at the one of the Beowolf’s legs. The ground shook as the beast was toppled from the blow. A flash of blue revealed Kai in the air seeking to stab the Beowolf through the heart. Its arm shot forward, and Kai was knocked out of the air by White. Green was accosted by several bear Grimm, who retreated before the giant Beowolf swatted him aside.  
  
“Damn, can’t help the youngsters.” Knight grunted as he fought the other Deathstalker, the previous one buried under several tons of rocks after he had thrown it into the cliffside. Robin, despite an increasingly hazy mind, understood what he meant—he couldn’t leave her defenseless to take on the giant Beowolf. And it was very clear that the three teens were outclassed by the giant Grimm, not helped by the fact that its smaller brethren were interfering their attempts to fight it. Every time they managed to get an advantage, the smaller Grimm would delay them long enough for the giant Grimm to recover. The odds were against them.  
  
_Unless…_  
  
Robin wasn’t unfamiliar with bad odds. Against Plegia, against Walhart, against Grima, the odds were always against the Shepherds, often outnumbered and outclassed. But it was her mind, her tactics that pulled them through. And it will be her tactics that will help these people.  
  
Robin’s head started to spin. She was losing time. She opened her mouth but the words came out slurred and weak. A wordless grunt of frustration escaped soon after, and Robin struggled to compose herself amidst her increasingly blurry thoughts. She tried again.  
  
“T-two of you attack the Beowolf in tandem while the other intercepts the smaller Grimm!” Robin collapsed back, her “tactician’s voice” as Lissa like to call it too much for her in her current state.  
  
The three teens snapped their heads back at her, surprised at her command, and they were barely able to avoid another swipe by the giant Beowolf. Robin’s worry that they’d disregard her advice were dissipated when Kai yelled something and made gestures at the other two, who nodded affirmatives.  
  
Kai and Green rushed the massive Grimm one more time, avoiding a swipe of its claw. Several smaller Beowolves rushed to aid their leader only to be dispatched by White’s blades. Green smacked away the giant Beowolf’s paw, staggering it. Kai leapt forward and made a vertical slash, the blue blade striking the Grimm just below the shoulder. With a roar the Beowolf recoiled, its now-severed arm landing with a _thunk_ that Robin felt.  
  
Knight gave her an appraising stare. He looked like he was saying something but Robin’s eyes were already drooping and the sounds of battle fading and her thoughts becoming more and more muddled as she slowly fell into the deep embrace of unconsciousness.


	3. Endurance

When Robin opened her eyes, she saw a white ceiling.  
  
She immediately closed them because _it was fucking bright_.  
  
Everything ached, her eyes hurt, and generally she felt shittier than the time they had a “genuine Ferox victory party.”  
  
But she was alive.  
  
Robin laid there for some time, reflecting upon the events of…the previous day? How long was she out?  
  
In any case, with the _everything_ that was happening when those four rescued her, she couldn’t really process the events that occurred. But here, lying in a random bed and feeling like a wyvern used her as its nest, Robin truly felt the implications sink in.  
  
These were highly skilled warriors, pulling off moves that even the Shepherds’ greatest swordsmen and swordswomen would call impressive. Not only that, but their weapons couldn’t have been anything but magical, able to cleave through those Grimm with ease whereas she could barely scratch one. And then to top everything off, there was the encounter with the giant Beowolf. Just _how_ was Green and the others able to take even a glancing hit and even _stand up_ , let alone fight just as hard as they have previously. And speaking of the Beowolf…  
  
A chill went down her spine as she remembered the massive wolf monstrosity. She wasn’t unnerved by the obviously unnatural appearance nor its astounding strength and durability. It was the obvious intelligence concealed behind its red hatred-filled eyes. She wasn’t blind to the change that came over the Grimm when the giant Beowolf arrived. Where the beasts once threw themselves blindly into blades of the defenders, they then coordinated their attacks, pushing back her rescuers and almost assuredly would have defeated them had she not provided her own tactical aid.  
  
The titanic Risen the Shepherds fought was bigger and stronger, however it was simply a mindless beast like its smaller kin. It was trivial luring it into a trap that negated all of its advantages and exacerbated its weaknesses. The giant Beowolf on the other hand proved itself to not only be a skilled fighter, but rather clever in its strategy. Pin down the strongest fighter and interfere with the others’ ability to coordinate against it.  
  
The question she asked herself when bloodied on the ground came back. _Where the hell was she?_ She had never heard of intelligent monsters who were far too similar to the Risen for her liking nor of magnificently skilled warriors with equally impressive weapons who fought said monsters. Even if they were in a secluded part of the world, she’d have thought she’d hear even rumors of them. She found herself once again longing for her companions, for her friends, for the ever-joyful smile of her son and the gentle touch of her lover. She felt an ache in her chest that hurt worse, hurt deeper than her ribs. _Gods I want to see them again._  
  
She let out a deep sigh. _But first I have to know what the hell those beasts are and where I am. Know more about the situation here than leave for Ylisse. I can’t in good consciousness leave these people to fight these monsters. And if these Grimm become a threat to Ylisse…_  
  
She suddenly became aware that her right arm was itchy as well as an incessant beeping noise. Opening her eyes once more, she finally took in her surroundings.  
  
She was on a bed with an inclined head lifting her upper body. While it wasn’t soft, it was comfortable enough. She was currently dressed in a loose-fitting gown which felt uncomfortably breezy, though fortunately someone had draped a blanket over her to protect her modesty. Her right arm was slung over her chest, and her upper arm was bound in a cast. She felt the constriction of various bandages on her legs, torso, and left arm.  
  
The room itself was fairly homely despite being mostly plastered in an off-white color. Strewn throughout the walls were various paintings and pictures that looked to be from children. To her right was the door as well as several wooden chairs with cushions. To the left were some cabinets and several odd-looking devices. The first to catch her attention had a green line that jumped in time with the beeping she heard. Coming from it was a wire that lead to a clamp on her thumb. Next to the device was a clear bag filled with blood, which was connected to her wrist through a tube. She gingerly lifted her left arm. _So that’s how they took care of the blood loss._  
  
Before she could continue examine it further she heard the door squeak open. Turning her head revealed a middle-aged blonde woman in a white coat and yellow shirt. In her hands was a clipboard.  
  
“Careful with that,” the woman said, tilting her head toward Robin’s wrist. “Don’t want to lose all the blood we put back in.” Despite the flippant words her face was curved in a kind smile that Robin couldn’t help but return.  
  
“But what if I wanted to try a new look? I’m sure plastery-white skin goes well with the gown I’m wearing.”  
  
The woman couldn’t help but chuckle, shaking her head. “Looks like we got a wise one here. In any case, my name is Doctor Chamomile, what is yours?”  
  
“Robin. I’d shake your hand, but I’m a bit tied up at the moment.”  
  
“I can see,” she answered as she wrote down something. “So how are you feeling right now?”  
  
Robin put on a contemplative expression. It was missing a hand on her chin, but she couldn’t pull that off without either excruciating pain or staining her bedsheets crimson. “Well upon consideration, Doctor, I feel like shit.”  
  
“I’m not surprised. When Ferrum and the kids dragged you in, you had…” Chamomile looked to her clipboard. “Lacerations on your right arm, several deep cuts on your legs, a broken upper arm bone, several broken ribs, bruised internal organs, and to top everything off a concussion. Honestly I’m surprised you didn’t have it worse, considering you were smack dab in the middle of Grimm territory and you don’t have an activated Aura.”  
  
Robin opened her mouth and then shut it again. She’s had worse, but hearing your injuries in such a frank manner was always disconcerting. But there was something Chamomile said that caught her attention. “What’s this Aura you’re talking about?”  
  
The doctor stared at Robin as if she’d grown a second head. “You…don’t know about Aura?”  
  
_Shit_. “Ah, it’s just my…concussion. Having some troubles remembering stuff. Could you jog my memory?” The irony of claiming amnesia wasn’t lost on her.  
  
Chamomile didn’t look like she bought the lie. Nevertheless, she explained, “Aura is the manifestation of the soul. It is our shield against the darkness that surrounds us and the sword with which we vanquish the demons who seek to kill us.” Chamomile paused. “Or at least, that’s what Reverend Brindle would say. In any case Aura allows one to enact feats of strength and acrobatics as well as allow one to survive great punishment.”  
  
Well that certainly explained how her rescuers were able perform such mind boggling stunts. With this information she could see how they could fight such powerful monsters with ease. “I can certainly see how that is useful.”  
  
Chamomile nodded. “Yes, Aura has allowed man to survive the ever-present threat of the Grimm for millennia. It has been with us since the dawn of time.” She finished the last sentence with a significant look at Robin.  
  
Robin stared straight ahead. From the way Chamomile spoke Robin’s ignorance of Aura was the same as not knowing what the sun was. This brought up many implications she really didn’t want to think about right now. _Where am I?_  
  
Thankfully Chamomile didn’t give her the time to think on it more.  
  
“I’m sorry,” she said with a sheepish expression. “I’ve rarely treated a patient I wasn’t already familiar with, so apologies if I was a bit too…hostile.”  
  
Robin gave her a reassuring smile. “No, it’s fine. I can understand how an amnesiac woman coming out of nowhere can appear a _little_ suspicious.” It was so long ago that she was irked by Frederick’s paranoia. Now she just missed it.  
  
“Alright,” Chamomile straightened up as she returned to business. “So with your injuries you’ll be bedridden for a couple of weeks, and you’ll want to avoid too much physical exertion for several months afterward before your body gets fully healed…”  
  
Robin grimaced at that. That…was a long time. _Could I really wait that long before journeying to Ylisse?_ A traitorous thought added, _If Ylisse even exists here._  
  
Chamomile smiled at her as she continued. “…Is what I would be saying if Ferrum hadn’t offered to unlock your Aura for you.”  
  
“Ferrum?”  
  
“I’m sure you’d recognize him. Plate armor, carries around a big shield?”  
  
“Oh yes, him.” Well it’s certainly a better name than Knight. _Still…_ “Thank you very much, but…why would you do this for a complete stranger, let alone a suspicious amnesiac?” There was Chrom trusting her to be in the Shepherds despite having no reason to, and then there was Chrom handing out pegasi to every strange woman he finds in fields.  
  
Chamomile gave a short laugh. “This isn’t downtown Vale or Mistral, out here the only things you need to worry about are poison ivy and Grimm eating your face off. The former I have ointments for, Aura and a good sword is for the latter. Regardless if you do have any ill intentions, well, you’ll find we’re capable enough fighters.”  
  
Robin thought back to the fighting before she passed out. “Yeah, I can’t really argue against that.”  
  
“Alright, once your Aura is activated you’ll still need to stay in bed and eat lots of nutrients to fuel your Aura. Fortunately the heavy healing should be done in a couple of days, and you’ll be as fit as you were before in a week or two.” She checked a strange-looking watch on her wrist. “I’ve already sent Kai to get Ferrum when I saw you were awake. They should be back in a couple of minutes.”  
  
The conversation done, Chamomile moved over to check on the devices beside Robin’s bed.  
  
“Sooo…Chamomile, was it?” Robin ventured as the eponymous doctor swapped the bag of blood to a new one.  
  
“Yes, and before you ask, I prefer coffee instead.”  
  
“Ah.” Robin had heard of coffee before, it was a drink brewed from the beans of the same name in the forests near the Mila Tree. While it was mostly a Valm thing, sometimes merchants would bring the drink over to Ylisse. “Do you prefer Doctor or Chamomile or…?”  
  
“While I do have a medical degree, I find that ‘doctor’ is vastly overselling what I do here. So just plain ‘Chamomile’ is fine, Robin.”  
  
Robin nodded. “So can you tell me a bit about this place, Chamomile?”  
  
“Oh that’s right, you were unconscious when you arrived here.” Chamomile turned to her with a smile. “Well, let me be the first to welcome you to the fine little village of Endurance. Home to pumpkins, pumpkin wine, and drunks.”  
  
Robin gave a polite chuckle. “So why Endurance?”  
  
“Well the village’s original name was Pumpkin Patch after all the pumpkins the village founders saw. That was about…hmm…maybe sixty-ish years ago? Anyway, things were going pretty badly. Most of the original population was dead within three years and people had stopped coming to the town within five. There were constant Grimm attacks, the defenses were always in need of repair, and every day it was like there was one more empty house. But the town held on. Barely.  
  
“Then there was a really, really bad Grimm attack. They came in numbers that the villagers had never seen before, spearheaded by the biggest Arachnolisk anyone had ever laid eyes on. All seemed lost; Pumpkin Patch would suffer the same fate as many other villages before it…”  
  
Chamomile paused dramatically, before staring straight at Robin.  
  
“That is, if a certain shield-wielding Hunter hadn’t arrived at the village not one day earlier. He lead the defense against the Grimm and even single-handedly fended off the giant Arachnolisk himself. This of course, made him a hero to the villagers, who all promptly got drunk off of pumpkin wine during the victory party.”  
  
She glanced at her watch. “Hmph, I’m glad I wasn’t there. Those hangovers must have been a bitch.” They both shared a chuckle at that.  
  
“Heh, I can relate to post-victory hangover syndrome.” So Ferrum saved this village and the Grimm have destroyed enough villages and towns that it wasn’t out of the ordinary. Robin was getting some good information. _Let’s see if I can push for more_. “So what happened after?”  
  
Chamomile opened her mouth before the sound of a bell chimed. “Looks like we’ll have to continue story time later,” she said as she made for the door. Robin heard two distinct muffled voices: the first was that of a teenage girl and who, from the little Robin heard, was very energetic, a near-endless stream of words that was only interrupted by the much calmer and deeper second voice, which Robin linked to Ferrum’s voice.  
  
The doctor had just opened the door by the time the duo reached Robin’s room. A blue-haired girl literally burst through the opening, throwing out a, “Hey Chamy~!” before dropping herself onto one of the stools. Upon closer inspection Robin was surprised to see it was Kai from before, still wearing her blue shirt and skirt. From her actions on the battlefield Robin had Kai originally pegged as someone like Lucina: serious and stoic.  
  
In just five seconds Kai shattered that image, swinging her legs back and forth while humming a tune. If anything, Kai was much more like Morgan, always needing to be in motion. The curly blue hair certainly didn’t help the parallels.  
  
Ferrum entered soon after, greeting Chamomile with a polite, “Hello, doctor.” Instead of his armor, Ferrum wore a dark red jacket with a white shirt that had blue writing Robin couldn’t make out. Underneath he wore dark brown pants held up by a black belt and boots.  
  
He gave a kind smile to Robin. “Good ta see you awake, miss. Hope the good doctor treated ya well. If ya hadn’t already gathered, the name’s Ferrum. Ferrum Rubidigo.”  
  
Robin opened her mouth to reply when she was interrupted by by Kai, who leaped out of the stool. “Oh! I forgot to introduce myself, sorry! I’m Kai!”  
  
She threw out her hand and held it there for a good five seconds before realizing Robin’s current state. She jerked it back with a sheepish expression. “Oh sorry! Sorry, I, uh, didn’t realize you’re, um…”  
  
Robin shared a chuckle with the other adults. “It’s alright Kai. My name’s Robin, and it’s a pleasure to meet you two. Thank you very much for rescuing me, I’d have died if it wasn’t for you.”  
  
“Well miss, ya certainly looked like death when we carried ya in. Now, the doctor already told ya my offer of unlocking yer Aura, but fer politeness I’ll ask ya myself. Do ya want me to unlock yer Aura?”  
  
“I’m assuming this comes with some caveats, otherwise you wouldn’t be asking me my consent.”  
  
Ferrum smiled. “Yer a smart one, ain’tcha. Having an unlocked Aura implies yer gonna help fight against the Grimm, ‘specially out here in the wilderness. If ya don’t wish ta fight, then well…I certainly won’t think less of ya, considerin’ how beat up you were.”  
  
Robin appreciated the sentiment, but she had already made up her mind long before anyone had entered the room. “I can’t let anyone fight and die on my behalf while I sit around and do nothing. If there’s a way I can actually fight those beasts on an even level, I’ll take it.”  
  
Chamomile nodded in approval while Kai and Ferrum smiled at her resolve. “Alright, that’s enough dilly-dally. Let’s get started.”  
  
“Ah, Kai,” Chamomile interrupted. “Don’t you have to go with Lincoln and Ivory to patrol the fields?”  
  
“Aw but they can wait.” Robin thought that Kai looked familiar with that pout on her face, but couldn’t quite place it. “Come on, I always miss seeing someone’s Aura unlocked, I’m not missing it now!”  
  
“It’s rude to keep yer friends waiting Kai,” Ferrum admonished the younger girl.  
  
In response Kai gave _the look_. Robin was very familiar with _the look_. Whenever he was denied an activity or object, Morgan would often give _the look_ to his parents, who’d try to resist yet ultimately failed. Every single time. How was Robin supposed to fight those puppy dog eyes?  
  
Chuckling, Ferrum acquiesced, ruffling the girl’s blue hair. “Alright, but when I’m done, yer headed straight outside.”  
  
“Yay!”  
  
With a grin, Ferrum once again turned to Robin. “Sorry for the delay, miss. Now, close yer eyes and concentrate on my voice.”  
  
She complied, and she felt him place his hands on Robin’s forehead and chest, and she winced slightly from the tiny spike of pain in her ribs. Suddenly despite her shut eyes, Ferrum once again blazed into her eyes, a flaming _light_ of stalwart silver with flecks of rusty red dancing in and out. Entranced by the sight, she almost didn’t realize he was speaking as well.  
  
_“…in passing that we achieve immortality…”_  
  
Robin felt something within her trying to respond, and she noticed herself glowing as well, a paltry purple light compared to Ferrum’s own, trying to spark itself brighter yet unable to do so; too weak and too fragile.  
  
_“…through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all…”_  
  
She saw Ferrum’s light sending tendrils of itself over to her own faint glow, hands that connected to her own and through which flowed energy and _life_ that fed the spark, nurturing it and encouraging it to grow.  
  
_“…infinite in distance and unbound by death…”_  
  
She saw, she _felt_ her light reacting, expanding, _becoming more_. The connection stayed firm, but it no longer needed to fuel the spark, for it had become a roaring fire of its own, a blazing beacon of _life_. Instead she felt the silver and red light guide it like a trough that brought life-giving water to a farmer’s fields, molding it and shaping it.  
  
_“…I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee.”_  
  
And then the connection was cut, and Robin opened her eyes once more. Ferrum was bracing his hands on his knees and panting a bit, an aura of silver and red fading away. “Whoo, always takes a bit outta ya.” Accepting a drink from Kai, who looked like someone had given her a pegasus for her birthday, he asked Robin, “So miss, how’re ya feelin’?”  
  
Looking down, Robin saw that she was wreathed in her own light, an aura of the vibrant purple she saw. Everything still hurt, every injury still making itself known, but despite that she felt…how could she describe it? She felt, _more_ , a sense of fullness and harmony with what she could only describe was her soul. An idle thought thanked that they had killed Grima beforehand.  
  
“That was…certainly an experience.” Her glow eventually faded, and Robin felt a small pang of disappointment. “So my Aura is ‘unlocked’ now?”  
  
Chamomile answered her question. “Yes, however with the injuries you’ve received it will still be a while before you’ve fully healed. I’ve already detailed my estimation for your recovery, so I’ll go ahead and start cooking some nutrition for you.”  
  
Robin was surprised at that, to say the least. “You’ll cook for me? But aren’t you a doctor?”  
  
Chamomile held up a hand and smiled. “Like I said, ‘doctor’ is too fancy a title for what I do. And besides, I don’t have any other patients and it’s almost lunchtime anyway.”  
  
Kai popped in with her own comment. “Yeah! Chamy _always_ makes the best lasagna. You’ll _love_ it, I know it.”  
  
“Alright Kai, you’ve seen what ya wanted. Now go on! Yer friends’re waitin’ fer ya.”  
  
“Ugh _fine_ dad! See ya Robin!” Despite her words, Kai placed a quick kiss on Ferrum’s cheek and sped off through the door, followed by Chamomile.  
  
Just before she passed the threshold, she called out to Ferrum. “Ah, Ferrum, I need to speak with you regarding your pills.”  
  
“Alright. ‘Scuse me miss, I’ll be back inna moment.”  
  
When the door closed Robin had an opportunity to reflect once more. She gingerly lifted her left hand, staring at it as if to will the—her, Robin corrected herself—Aura to show itself once more. “Manifestation of the soul, huh?”  
  
Out of all the implications of such an ability, out of everything she experienced as Ferrum unlocked her Aura, Robin’s mind for some reason focused on an inane detail. “So my soul’s colored purple, apparently.”  
  
It was honestly such a little detail that, from the little Robin learned, didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, yet she kept pondering on it more and more, dominating her thoughts. She started to wonder color the other Shepherds’ souls would be, which naturally included the future children, which segued into soul color heredity of all things. What was the criteria that determined the color of the soul? If a mother had a red soul and the father a blue, would the child be a purple-colored soul or something completely different?  
  
She was thankfully disturbed from her tangent by the door opening once more, revealing Ferrum. “Sorry about that, miss, needed to do some business with the doc. I’ll accompany ya while the doc’s cookin’ up some lunch.”  
  
“I appreciate the gesture, but you really don’t need to do this.”  
  
“Nonsense! I ain’t gonna leave an injured woman to the second worst fate known ta man.”  
  
“Which is?”  
  
“Boredom.” He gave a hearty chuckle, and Robin couldn’t help but join in.  
  
Ferrum pulled up a chair to sit next to Robin. As he did so, Robin asked, “So…you’re Kai’s father?”  
  
Ferrum chuckled. “Indeed I am. Not by blood, if that’s what yer askin’, but she’s my daughter all the same. Her parents died inna Grimm attack when she was young, ‘n I decided ta take her in.” He shook his head, a happy smile on his face. “Best decision of my life, if I do say so myself.”  
  
Robin grinned in response. “I can certainly imagine that.” If Kai was anything like Morgan, which was very likely from what Robin had seen of her, her boundless enthusiasm and optimism would always be a source of joy.  
  
Ferrum must have noticed the recognition on her face as he asked, “Ya have one of yer own?”  
  
Shit, she didn’t want to reveal that. “Ah, I do. I haven’t seen him in a while, but he’s the light of my life.”  
  
Ferrum leaned back. “Mmm. They’re always a handful aren’t they.” He looked at her in the eye. “Forgive me fer askin’, but why’d ya leave him?”  
  
Robin stared ahead. “There was…there were circumstances outside of my control. I didn’t want to leave him alone. I never wanted to leave him. But I had to.”  
  
The room was silent save for the rhythmic beeping of the machines next to her. Ferrum finally popped in, his voice taking on a reassuring tone. “I’m sure wherever he is, he’s mighty proud of his mother.”  
  
Robin smiled at him. “Thank you.”  
  
“Speakin’ a which, where’re ya from? Yer quite a ways off from anywhere important.”  
  
_How do I answer this…_ “I’m from Ylisse. It’s quite…isolated from here. You may not have heard of it.”  
  
“Indeed I haven’t. Mind tellin’ me what it’s like?”  
  
“Well, it’s a peaceful place, though in the recent years we were forced to take up arms. The people there are wonderful though; I made some of my closest friends in Ylisse.” The Shepherds were more than her friends. They were her family. They gave her meaning and direction in her life where she had none, accepted her as one of their own despite great reasons not to.  
  
“This Ylisse certainly sounds like a swell place, miss. I’d love ta visit sometime.” Ferrum leaned back, stretching old arms. “But, I’ve got obligations here. ‘Sides I’m too old; won’t survive the journey.”  
  
Robin raised an amused eyebrow. “Ah, so the shield’s really just an elaborate crutch.”  
  
Ferrum laughed at that. “At times it does feel like one.”  
  
They lapsed into silence then. Ferrum looked to be in deep thought, and Robin herself was lost in reminiscence. For a while only the steady beeping of the machines filled the room.  
  
“Robin, when’re ya gonna stop lyin’ ta us?”  
  
Robin was shocked out of her thoughts, whipping her head toward Ferrum and uttering an eloquent, “W-what?”  
  
Ferrum locked his eyes with her own, his tone serious. “Robin, I may be old but I ain’t senile nor stupid.”  
  
Robin took a deep breath. “Ferrum, I haven’t told you a lie since we started talking.”  
  
“Hmph, lyn’ by omission’s still lyn’ Robin. Now, don’t get me wrong; I ain’t one ta assume the worst. Ya seem like a good woman; ya can’t fake that emotion I heard when ya were talkin’ about yer son. But I betcha even you know that the circumstances around yer arrival are mighty suspicious. As the protector of this village I can’t take chances with suspicious people around here. Not with the Grimm around.”  
  
Robin sighed. “Well I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage, seeing as I’m bedridden and you’re capable of stopping several ton trees.”  
  
“My apologies fer springin’ this on ya so suddenly. Normally I don’t give every newcomer the third degree, but not only didja appear outta the blue, but ya were ignorant of even the basic facts of the world. Every child knows about Aura since the day they can speak, and there’s never been a place a’ peace in this world; the closest we got are the Four Kingdoms, an’ even then they’re constantly besieged by the Grimm,” Ferrum explained.  
  
“I understand ya don’t want to throw yer whole life’s story out to some stranger. But fer my peace a’ mind, could ya explain ta me where the hell’re ya from and how ya ended up here?”  
  
Robin lied back into the bed. It was…disconcerting, to be caught so off guard. As a Tactician, she had always had contingencies, backup plans and backups for the backup plans. The only time she had been utterly blindsided was when she was possessed by Validar to betray her companions and steal the Fire Emblem. That hadn’t been a good experience for anyone involved. In any case, she berated herself for making too many slip ups, a factor she grudgingly attributed to her lingering concussion.  
  
_Back to the matter at hand…_ Did she want to go full disclosure? To give out her history, which rather depressingly only went back a couple of years. _Damn amnesia_. It would make more sense to lie, to fabricate a likely story. But to do that she needed information, information she lacked aside from a couple of trivial facts. No doubt Ferrum would be able to pick apart any false claim she’d come up with.  
  
On the other hand, Robin was forced to face the reality that…that she probably couldn’t return to Ylisse. That she won’t…that she’ll have to wait before seeing her friends, her family again. It was…a hard thought to stomach, to accept. _I’m sorry, Morgan, Lucina,_ she thought uselessly.  
  
She banished those thoughts. It was no time to dwell on the past, on lost possibilities. This was a different world. A world that didn’t seem to have Naga nor Grima, no Ylisse, Plegia, or Valm. In essence, a blank slate for her. What harm would come of telling the truth? At worst she’d be mocked for being delusional.  
  
Robin took a deep breath. “Well Ferrum, you asked for an explanation, I’ll give you one. I hope you don’t have anywhere to be soon, because this is a long one.”  
  
And so Robin explained her story, from the day she awoke in a random field to the night she sacrificed herself to fell the Fell Dragon. She left out much of the details, but she kept the broad strokes: Awakening to a welcoming hand, fighting undead beasts known as the Risen and meeting the mysterious “Marth”, the war with Plegia, her failure to save the ruler of Ylisse and the sister of her best friend, the two years of peace and the birth of Lucina, the Valmese invasion and the reveal of a terrible future by “Marth”, in actuality a grown-up Lucina who traveled back to the past to prevent Grima’s rise, the grueling war with Valm and Walhart the conqueror, the desperate race to stop the cult of the Grimleal, the final battle atop the Fell Dragon’s back, and her sacrifice to end Grima once and for all.  
  
“…Then I woke up here, and you can guess what happened next.”  
  
As she finished the meticulous beeping once again filled the room as Ferrum processed the story. Robin reached for the glass of water Ferrum had laid to her left. Finally he said, “Ya know, when I asked ya two days ago fer how ya pissed off all those Grimm, I didn’t expect anything like this.”  
  
Robin gave him a neutral expression. “So you don’t believe me?”  
  
Ferrum put up a placating hand. “Nah don’t get me wrong, miss. Certainly explains all those weird books we found.”  
  
Robin perked up at that. “Oh, you found my tomes? I had written those off as a loss.”  
  
“Yep, partly how we were able ta find ya. That an’ the trail a’ destruction. The doc’s got those and yer other belongings stored away fer ya.”  
  
Ferrum glanced at the clock. “In any case, I expect ya want ta find a way back ta yer world. I’m afraid I’m the last person who can help ya there. Hoppin’ between worlds ain’t anythin’ but science fiction here.”  
  
_Of course_. Robin expected it, steeled herself against it, but in the end it still hurt, hurt so much. She took a deep breath. “…I know, I thought that might be the case.” She turned to him, trying to put on a confident smile. She wasn’t sure if she succeeded. “But, I already promised to help out against the Grimm. I wouldn’t change my mind even if I had a way back.”  
  
Ferrum returned her smile, placing a reassuring hand on Robin’s shoulder. “I like yer gumption, miss. Don’t worry, I’m sure yer friends n’ family are fine. From yer words they’re a hardy bunch.”  
  
“Yeah…” She knew he meant well. But she also knew her absence would leave a hole, a gaping void in her family’s hearts that wouldn’t be so easily filled. _Gods I miss them already_. And from the heavy feeling in her chest, her own as well.  
  
The squeaking of the chair signalled Ferrum’s imminent departure. “Well, miss, I’ve gotta be off. I’ll see ya around soon.” With that, the door closed, leaving Robin alone with her thoughts. So lost she was that she didn’t notice the wetness trailing down her cheek.  
  
_I miss them so much_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anyone comments that she's giving up too easily on returning to Ylisse, keep in mind she's rather overwhelmed at the moment and she's not functioning at 100%.


	4. Remnant

Robin had wiped away the last of the tears when there was a knock on the door. She called out a quick, "Come in," revealing Chamomile wheeling in a cart with food.

"I trust that Ferrum didn't go too hard on you?" the doctor asked as she pushed the cart to Robin's side.

Robin shook her head. "No, he was quite reasonable really." As Chamomile moved over to Robin's left, Robin asked, "So I assume you weren't just talking about 'pills' with Ferrum."

For her part Chamomile had the courtesy to look sheepish as washed her hands with some sort of tissue cloth. "Heh, sorry about that. I hope you don't hold it against us, we're usually quite accomodating."

"No no, it's fine. I can understand the suspicion; I'd do the same in your position." Only Chrom would trust a stranger he found on the ground implicitly. It was one of the traits that Robin admired about him, and one of the traits that allowed the Shepherds to be as great as they were.

"Hold on, I'm removing your IV." Chamomile pulled out the tube connected to Robin's arm, quickly applying a bandage. The doctor then pressed a button on the device, and with a click the beeping stopped and the lights shut off. She pushed the stand with the blood bag away and grabbed another of the cloths, removing the clip on Robin's finger as she did so.. "Here, wipe your hand with this. It's a disinfectant."

Robin wasn't quite sure what a "disinfectant" was, but she obliged. The cloth was wet with something that didn't seem like water; it was more…would sticky be the correct term? In addition it dried quickly, leaving her skin feeling dry. Chamomile took the cloth back and tossed it into a trash bin, making Robin raise an eyebrow.  _A bit wasteful if you ask me_.

As she lifted the tray of food, Chamomile said, "Well as an apology, here's some a delicious three-course meal prepared by yours truly. Eat up, your body's going to need it."

Indeed it seemed like a meal fit for kings, impressive considering she traveled with six members of the Ylissean royal family, the two khans of Regna Ferox, the princess of Chon'sin, and the Voice of Naga herself.

The appetizer consisted of a circular arrangement of fifteen toothpicks skewering a tiny tomato, some basil leaves, and a cube of cheese each. Next to it was the main entree: a plate full of the most delicious-looking lasagna that Robin had ever seen. Golden-white layers of pasta and cheese sandwiched delectable-looking ground meat coated with savory red tomato sauce. On top, the perfectly-baked cheese covering was sprinkled with assorted dark green seasonings that combined to create a scrumptious-looking feast. A small pile of plump garlic-covered breadsticks laid in a bowl to the side accompanied by a pitcher full of refreshing iced water.

Wow she was hungry.

"I…thank you Chamomile, but when you said you were cooking lunch I didn't expect anything like this." Robin reluctantly tore her eyes away from the mouth-watering sight to look at Chamomile, who wore a knowing smile as she poured water into two cups.

"It's nothing, really. Really I just wanted an excuse to go all out with cooking." She pulled up one of the chairs to sit in. "Trust me, I know how it is after getting badly hurt." Robin noted Chamomile's hand absently rubbing her side. "Now dig in before I force feed you."

Robin complied happily, stripping the appetizers down to their toothpicks in seconds. Grabbing the fork, she tore into the defenseless lasagna, making great headway despite only having use of one arm. She was pretty sure Maribelle would faint if she saw her now.

Glancing up, Robin noticed Chamomile's bemused expression as she pulled out a book from her coat. With a full mouth, she said, "Oh! That remindsh me."

Gulping down her food, Robin continued. "You promised you'd continue your tale about Endurance."

Chamomile placed the book in her lap, a playful glint in her eye. "Did I? I only recall saying we'd continue at a later time."

"Now's a later time." Robin retorted as she shoved a breadstick into her mouth.

"Now's 'eatin' time', as Ferrum would say."

_Oh she's playing_ that _game is she?_  "Well then, how about I propose a deal." Robin popped another bite of lasagna into her mouth. "I tell you about myself, and you tell me about whatever I want."  _Man this lasagna's good_.

"Really now? That seems a tad unfair don't you think?"

"It totally is fair!" Robin punctuated her declaration by jabbing her fork at the doctor. "How often do you get to learn about someone from another world?"

Chamomile's eyebrows rose. "You…you aren't serious are you?"

Robin paused while biting a breadstick. "Wait, you mean Ferrum didn't tell you? I'd have thought he'd inform you that I'm not of this world if nothing else."

Chamomile shook her head. "No, no. When I asked all he said was that 'it was a good story' and that you'd tell us on your own time. I had my guesses but I admit 'traveler from another world' was pretty down there."

Robin finished off her breadstick. "Sho yu' jusht akshept tha' a' fashe value?"

The doctor sighed. "Well I do have some doubts. Still, it does explain some of your ignorance, and if Ferrum believes you, then I don't see any harm in a little bit of faith."

"You must trust Ferrum a lot then," Robin noted.

Chamomile chuckled. "Heh, yeah I do. Everyone here does."

"So it's a deal?"

"I don't see why not. I've nothing else to do anyway." Chamomile eyed the battered meal on Robin's lap. "I guess I should go first. Wouldn't do well to have lasagna fly everywhere."

"Wha' ah yu' talkin' 'bout," Robin said with a mouth full of pasta.

The two shared a chuckle at that.

"Well then," Chamomile started. "Where do you want me to begin?"

"Well since they're apparently so prevalent in this world, perhaps you could explain Aura and the Grimm?"

"Hoo boy, delving into the deep topics are we? I'm afraid I'm the last one you could ask about those things. Still, I'll try to answer the best I can.

"I've told you the basics of Aura, how it can protect, heal, and boost one's physical strength. This is all well and good, but against the Grimm simply swinging a sword harder isn't going to get you far, not against the bigger ones. There's one more important aspect of Aura. Semblances.

"From what I've heard, Semblances are more direct applications of one's Aura. Each and every Semblance is unique, just like the person who wields them. I'm not entirely sure about the specifics, but Ferrum says that everyone's Semblance reflects upon their character in some way."

That certainly explained a lot about the capabilities of her rescuers. Perhaps it wasn't the weapons that were magical but their wielders instead. And if everyone had a unique ability, then that meant that planning for fighting human opponents was going to be a lot harder.

Robin wasn't naive enough to think that she wouldn't eventually fight other people. Chamomile's throwaway line about "downtown Vale" was more than enough proof of that. Hell, her first real experience of Ylisse, a peaceful country, was a band of brigands ransacking a town.

With how varied Semblances were implied to be, this meant that every new foe fought brought something new. In her world, for the most part you could tell what you were going up against whether or not they were a swordsman, pegasus knight, archer, or mage. Even with the Shepherds, made of some of the most unique people Robin had ever met, were exemplary only because of their great skill and Robin's tactical guidance, not some special power.

In this world, however, each person had their own potentially game-changing abilities. A tactical plan could be thrown out the moment someone enters the fray. With how varied Semblances were implied to be, planning based on what the enemy's forces consisted of was much, much more difficult.

A challenge Robin accepted with gusto.

"Not everyone who has an Aura has found what their Semblance is, and apparently it's rather rare to have one. But it allows some pretty extraordinary things."

"So is that the reason why Ferrum was able to stop a tree thrown at him?" Robin asked.

"Ah-" Chamomile started. "Yes it is. You'll have to ask the man himself, but I believe his Semblance boosts the armor of the things he wears. Something like that.

"Now, this brings me to the second reason we are able to push back the Grimm. Dust."

Despite the innocuous name, Robin could tell this was an important topic. She could practically hear the capitalization in the way Chamomile said it. Sitting up, Robin took another bite of the lasagna. _So good_.

"Despite our Aura and our Semblances, humanity has always been on the backfoot. Even in the Four Kingdoms, the four places where people have been able to form lasting civilizations, it was a tenuous thing.

"Then mankind discovered Dust. Nature's Wrath taken physical form, if you believe that sort of thing." Chamomile waved a hand. "Seeing their effects, it isn't hard to believe that."

"Dust comes in many varieties, and their effects are as varied as their colors. Fire, Water, and Lightning Dust are just some of the ones I can name off the top of my head. Unless you work in the mines, you'll see Dust in two forms: either as a powder or as a crystal. Both are very volatile—the former more than the latter—but while they make a nice 'boom', Dust's true power lies with how it interacts with Aura."

Robin finished off another bite of lasagna. "How does that work?"

"Well I'm not entirely sure seeing as I've never really handled Dust, but from what I could gleam off of Ferrum's lectures, when you infuse Aura into Dust it allows you to wield it in a myriad of ways. For example with just Fire Dust I've seen people throw fireballs, create walls of fire, or even turn the ground into lava." Chamomile made vague hand gestures Robin assumed to be poorly-formed fireballs. "And this isn't even getting into how Dust changes how Semblances work. Say if someone makes clones of themselves, Fire Dust would change it into a fire clone, and so on."

Dust certainly sounded like an extremely versatile and powerful resource, and Robin was interested in how it would combine with her own magic. What would happen if a fire spell interacted with Water Dust? Miriel and Laurent would have certainly appreciated having some samples.

"Alright, so how would one get her hands on Dust?" Robin asked.

Chamomile took a sip of water. "Thinking ahead are we? Well most of the Dust mined is shipped to the Kingdoms, so Endurance only has enough for powering our stuff and emergencies. I'm sure Ferrum would let you have a couple crystals though, the man's generous if nothing else."

"I'll be sure to ask him then. Now, what about the Grimm?"

Chamomile's brow furrowed. "Yes, the Grimm. I'm afraid to say that even though we have fought the beasts for millennia, we  _still_  don't know much about their nature. I admit that I'm rather ignorant of the Grimm, and if I never have to fight one then I'll die a happy woman."

The doctor rubbed her side—the same side as before, Robin noted. "I suppose the most notable characteristic of the Grimm is that they're soulless. Every single one."

"Soulless?" Robin didn't like the sound of that. Yet another parallel to the Risen.

"Every living thing has an Aura we can measure, from the wolves around here to the tiniest seedling. We can find a soul. But the Grimm? We find nothing."

After a brief silence, Chamomile spoke once more. "Another important thing you should know is that Grimm are attracted to negative emotions. Stuff like anger, sadness, jealousy; the Grimm are drawn like moths to a lamp."

"Is the opposite true? Are they repulsed by positive emotions?" Robin asked, though she suspected the answer already.

The doctor shook her head. "If they were it would have made our lives much easier. No, they'll attack anyone they see even if they're having the happiest time of their life.

"You'd have to ask Jette for a more in-depth explanation, Jette Celeste that is. She's a professor at Beacon; right now she's on a vacation her niece forced her into. The woman's a bit of a workaholic."

_Jette Celeste huh?_  Another name to keep track of. "Is Beacon some sort of school?"

Chamomile waggled her hand. "Of sorts. Beacon is the most prestigious Hunter academy in all of Remnant."

"I assume a hunter here does more than sell animal pelts."

Chamomile chuckled. "Yes they do. Hunters and Huntresses are the guardians of humanity, the beacons of light we follow to protect us from the darkness." She paused. "Well, that's what Ferrum tells Kai and the children. You can think of Huntsmen as the elite forces of humanity. All of them are masters of their Aura and chosen weapons, and they're often at the spearhead of every foray into Grimm territory."

A  _clack_  drew Robin's attention to the tray, revealing a bare plate long since devoid of pasta-based nourishment. Chamomile caught her forlorn stare and smiled.

"Well," the woman said as she got up. "I think I've rambled on long enough. You'll have more opportunities to get caught up later, I do believe it's time for your part of the bargain."

Robin leaned back as Chamomile picked up the tray to place it back on the cart. She did get some good information about the basics of the world she was in, however Robin was painfully aware there was a great deal she was ignorant of. She still had no idea what the devices besides her bed did, nor did she know what allowed her rescuers' weapons to spit fire and fell beasts at range. Nevertheless, Chamomile was right that there would be more chances for her to learn about this "Remnant".

"Alright, alright," Robin acquiesced, taking a nice big gulp of water. "I might as well start at the beginning. My first memory was waking up in a field…"

* * *

"…the next thing I know, I wake up in a forest, and the rest is history."

As she finished her tale, Robin glanced at her sole audience member. Unlike Ferrum, who had asked a few questions every now and then for clarification, Chamomile had sat in rapt attention throughout Robin's story. Even now, she had a look of intense thought. Finally the woman spoke up.

"You know what you should do? You should write a book about that."

Robin raised her eyebrows. Of all the things she expected in response, that wasn't one of them. "I- I'm sorry what?"

"I mean, I think that's a great story, your past that is. It had everything: romance, large-scale wars, intrigue, prophesies, time travel, dragons… If you put that to print, I guarantee you'd get at least several hundred fans."

Robin wasn't sure what to say to that. On one hand, it was rather flattering that someone thought her life was interesting enough to be published for the world to read. On the other, it rubbed her the wrong way to think of all the hardships, challenges, and drama Robin and her companions, friends, family faced as mere entertainment.

Chamomile must have caught the look on Robin's face as she hastily waved her hands. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean any offense. I don't want to sound like I was demeaning you or the hardships you went through. I just…thought it was a really engaging tale. I've never had that exciting of a life so I like to listen to others' stories and read books and…"

She winced. "Sorry, I'm really putting my foot in my mouth aren't I?"

Robin shook her head with a smile. "No, it's fine. Looking back, it really is quite an exciting story isn't it?" If Robin was honest with herself, she had to admit that more than a few parts of her life seemed to be even more outlandish than of the adventure-romance novels she…that Sumia and Cordelia enjoyed reading.

"Though," the doctor started. "I am a bit serious about writing it down. Quite honestly it sounds like you might be here, on Remnant, for…" Chamomile paused. "…For quite some time. You might get homesick, and I've heard writing or talking about home might help."

Robin sighed. She didn't want to think about her friends, her family she had involuntarily left behind. But Chamomile did have a point. "Thank you Chamomile, but it's a topic I'd rather not talk about for now."

The woman in question nodded. "Alright." She glanced at the clock. "Hm, as much as I'd like to chat some more, I've got to do some errands around the village. Is there anything I can get you before I go?"

Robin took a moment to think.  _Well, she_ did  _say she liked books…_ "Do you have any novels I could read?"

* * *

The sun was setting when Robin heard voices outside her room. She recognized Chamomile's relaxed diction and Kai's frenetic speech as well as two others. Robin marked her place in the book she was reading, a rather thrilling tragic romance titled  _Ninjas of Love_.

Chamomile's voice called out from behind the door, accompanied by a knock. "Robin, you've got some guests."

"Come in," Robin answered as she set the book aside.

Chamomile had barely pushed the door open when Kai zoomed through, exclaiming a quick, "Hey Robin!" The other two followed through at a more sedate pace, and Robin recognized them as the other two who helped rescue her. That they were wearing the same clothes as they did that day helped quite a bit.

Green was the first to enter, his scruffy green hair bouncing with his gait. With the shorter distance, Robin could plainly see the floppy dog ears prominently on display on the sides of his head. He waved his hands to her and dropped himself into a chair, his canine ears flopping as he did so.

White was next, her waist-length locks swaying as she strode gracefully into the room. Upon closer inspection, Robin could see Chon'sin-like features on White's face, and her skin had the slight yellowish tinge that Lon'qu and Say'ri possessed. She nodded to Robin and took a standing place beside Green.

Chamomile cleared her throat. "Well I'll be off. Robin, if you need anything, just press the button on this." She handed Robin a small rectangular thing with red and yellow buttons. "Yellow for something non-urgent, red for emergencies."

Robin nodded. "Thank you Chamomile."

"Alright," the doctor made for the door. "Robin, kids, take care of yourselves."

"Goodbye Chamomile." "Bye Chamy!" "See ya doc." "Goodbye."

As the door closed, Kai clapped her hands together, exclaiming, "So! I thought since we rescued you and all it would be a good idea to introduce ourselves to you!" She grandly gestured to herself. "I'm Kai Rubidigo but, um, you already knew that. Eheh." She scratched the back of her head with a nervous smile.

Robin couldn't help but smile in return. It seems she wasn't wrong about Kai's resemblance to Morgan. So much enthusiasm that they forget the little details. "Well it's nice to meet you again, Kai."

"Hehe, alright so," Kai gestured to Green. "This here is Lincoln Verdant—I call him Linc for short. Say hi Linc!"

The green-haired boy raised a lazy hand. "Yo."

"And that one over here…" Kai zoomed over to White, thrusting her hands out in a manner that reminded Robin of one of the many Annas showing off a brand new product. "…is Ivory Celeste."

Ivory gracefully bowed her head. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Robin."

Robin nodded in return. "The feeling is mutual." And it was. It was nice to finally be able to put a name to her rescuers other than an admittedly unimaginative color.

After that the conversation just…died. The four of them just stood (or sat, or lied down) in awkward silence.

…

Lincoln coughed.

…

"Okay!" Kai suddenly yelled out with so much force that everyone recoiled from the outburst, Kai included. "Eheh, um…" Scratching the back of her head, Kai rushed over to Robin's side. "Come on guys! Don't you have anything to say to her? She's a new person we haven't seen before! People don't come around here often, isn't it exciting?"

Lincoln shrugged. "Eh."

"Mmmmph." Kai folded her arms and scrunched up her face in a pout, air escaping her nostrils in response to her friend's apathy. Robin took the opportunity to study the familiarly strange features on the blue-haired teenager.

Robin noticed the differences between Kai and Morgan immediately. How could she not, when she had spent so much time with Morgan, had doted and fussed and cared for her beloved son ever since he revealed himself?

The most obvious divergence was the color of the hair; whereas Morgan's was a deep royal blue, Kai's was a much brighter hue, azure locks dangling to her shoulder. The features on her face provided another point of contrast. Morgan possessed the pointed nose of his parents, while Kai's was much rounder. Morgan had a longer face, a trait he shared with the royal family. Kai's eyes were rounder, and of course she lacked a Brand of the Exalt emblazoned in the right eye.

And somehow, those differences made the similarities all the more apparent.

Her hair was styled almost exactly the same as Morgan's, though curlier and longer, with even the same clump of hair going down her forehead. Her blue eyes shone with the same bright enthusiasm Robin always saw in Morgan's brown ones, twinkling with the boundless energy that often left others in the dust.

It was a nice sense of familiarity in an unfamiliar world.

"Oh fine," she heard Lincoln relent. "Well it's good to see you're not de-OW!"

Robin turned her head to find Lincoln rubbing the back of his head while Ivory stood with her arms crossed behind her back, an air of artificial innocence surrounding her.

"The hell was that for?" the green-haired boy asked.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." The girl's slight smirk betrayed the true identity of the culprit.

Kai giggled, and it was clear this wasn't the first time this sort of exchange has happened.

Lincoln furrowed his brow. "Hitting someone on the head's not nice you know."

"Making jokes about one's mortality usually doesn't go over well, Lincoln." Ivory elaborated.

Lincoln opened his mouth to reply before closing it. "If I tried to rebuke that I'd sound like an asshole wouldn't I?"

"Yes you would."

Kai's giggles intensified when Lincoln made a weird groaning noise as he slumped into the chair.

Robin couldn't help but join in with her own little chuckle. "Well Lincoln, I'm pretty happy with my not-dead status too."

Lincoln threw up his hands at Robin. "See!  _She_  gets it!"

"A stopped clock is right twice a day," Ivory said.

"Wait, what the fuck does that mean in  _this_  situation?"

"GUYS!" Kai had apparently grown tired of her friends' quarreling. "Come on!" With sagged shoulders she turned to Robin. "Sorry Robin, I thought we could get to know each other and be friends but apparently we can't even do that!" The last words were directed to her companions, who had the courtesy of looking sheepish.

"My apologies Kai." "Sorry."

Robin smiled. "Don't worry about it, Kai. Actually, you can tell a lot about a person by the way they interact with their friends."

Kai looked at Robin curiously. "Oh? Really?"

Robin nodded. "You have to have experience in reading people, but already I can tell that those two…" Robin pointed at the duo in the corner. "…despite their differences and their bickering, care for each other and are good friends."

Lincoln opened his mouth to reply. "Well-"

Ivory beat him to the punch, "Don't deny it."

Lincoln sighed. "Yeah I guess you're right." His canine ears drooped as he crossed his arms and pouted. Robin had to admit it was rather adorable. "Yeesh I can't do anything around you guys."

"Aw don't worry Linc," Kai said. "At least you can't embarrass yourself."

"Yeah, not when I have you two dunces."

"You know you love us!"

As the three teens devolved into petty banter, Robin lied back in the bed, a smile creeping on her face. It was, familiar, nostalgic. The Shepherds have always been a band of disparate personalities, from the outgoing and vulgar Vaike, the prim and proper Maribelle, the methodical and calculating Miriel, the flirtatious and noble Virion, to the paranoid and stalwart Frederick. And as they continued through their journeys, the sheer diversity of characters only grew; Gaius's sweet tooth, Henry's rather disturbing hemophilia, Gregor's strange but charming way of speaking, and Tharja's obsessive yet oddly not unwelcome stalking of Robin herself. And things only got more complicated with the Future Children.

Had there not been the specific circumstances that led to the Shepherd's formation and rise to prominence, Robin doubted most of the group's members would have ever met, let alone become close companions and in some cases lovers. Yet it was through the flames of war and strife were the bonds of camaraderie were shaped, forged, and galvanized, invisible lifelong ties that would never, could never be diminished. Even now, stuck on another world, Robin could feel those bonds tugging on her heart, reminding her of times good and bad, of experiences cherished and embarrassing.

With the constant threat of the Grimm, it would only make sense that was how these three dissimilar children grew to so close.

Robin knew she'd probably never get another group like the Shepherds in this world. Little could match the raucous mess hall during dinner time. But perhaps she could regain just a bit of that wonderful time with these three.

While Robin was busy reflecting, Lincoln had managed to get Kai into a headlock, the dog-eared boy rubbing his fist in the laughing taller girl's hair. Ivory stood to the side as always, though Robin could hear her chuckling at her friends' antics.

"Ack! Come on Linc, lemme go!"

"Never!"

Giggling, Kai noticed Robin's bemused gaze. "Oh! Robin!" She tapped Lincoln's arm twice, the boy letting her go and stepping back. "Um, sorry, we got carried away."

"It's fine, don't worry." Robin gave the girl a reassuring smile. "It was quite amusing to watch. Actually, you three reminded me of some of my friends where I was from."

Kai perked up at this. "Really?"

Robin nodded. "Yeah. Truth is, I come from another world."

Before the last word escaped Robin's lips, Kai rounded on Lincoln, exclaiming a triumphant, "HA! Told you so!"

"Oh come on!" Lincoln threw up his hands. "You can't expect me to just believe something like that with  _no_  evidence at all!"

"It does seem rather farfetched," Ivory affirmed.

"Mnn." Kai stuck her tongue out at the two. Lincoln returned the gesture, while Ivory simply shook her head with a smile.

"I can assure you it  _is_  true." Robin interjected, drawing the trio's attention back onto her. "In fact, you can ask Chamomile and Ferrum what they think, they've put their trust into my word. Although…" Kai's victorious look stalled when Robin stared directly at the girl, an accusatory glint in the woman's eyes. "Kai, how did you know this?"

The girl recoiled as if she was struck, pure guilt flashing through her blue eyes. "O-oh I um…" Kai scratched the back of her head nervously. "I…don't know what you're talking about?" She glanced at her friends with a pleading expression."

Unfortunately she found no aid forthcoming. Ivory plainly stated, "Kai was forty minutes late in joining us on our weekly patrol."

Lincoln whistled as Kai withered under Robin's firm stare. Finally the poor girl relented. "FINE! I sort'a stayed a bit longer 'cause I wanted t'know what dad was talkin' with you 'bout. I couldn't hear much but I heard the bit 'bout you being from 'nother world. There I said it!" The girl crossed her arms and pouted, a small blush creeping on her cheeks.

Robin couldn't stop the laughter. It was just too amusing not to. She only stopped when Kai's pout turned into an expression of worry that was echoed by the others.

"Um," the girl began. "You're not…mad are you?"

Robin was sorely tempted to resume her bout of laughter, but she restrained herself. "No no, I'm far from mad. Though I wouldn't make eavesdropping a habit if I were you."

Kai's expression fell for a brief moment, and Robin felt a slight pang of guilt at teasing the girl. "Well, I suppose you brought your friends here so I could tell you my story, am I correct?"

Kai instantly bounced back, nodding enthusiastically.

Robin nodded in return. "Well, you should get comfortable and pull up a chair. It's a long one."

Kai looked down inquisitively at Lincoln, a hopeful look in her eyes. After a moment, the boy shrugged. "Eh fine, why not. Not like I had anything else to do."

Letting a small fist pump, Kai and Lincoln flopped down onto the chairs. Ivory returned to her spot standing beside Lincoln, to which Robin raised an eyebrow. Catching her expression, Ivory simply shook her head. "I am alright, Robin. Please start."

"Alrigh then. So it all started in a random field…"

And so for the third time that day, Robin told her tale.

* * *

 "…and here I am, talking with you three." With a short exhale of breath, Robin reached for a well-deserved glass of water.

She hadn't even gotten to the first war with Plegia before she had them enraptured. Even Lincoln, who had feigned disinterest soon found himself sitting leaning forward in his seat. Perhaps she should take up Chamomile's suggestion of becoming a writer.

"Woah…" Kai said, her eyes wide and sparkling. "Your life is  _so_  much more interesting than mine."

"Now don't say that."

"But it's true! You've like, fought wars and a giant evil dragon! All I've done's swing my sword atta buncha Grimm." Kai crossed her arms in pout.

"Well, I for one think your sword swinging is impressive," Robin said with a smile.

The girl perked up. "Really?"

"Really."

Kai beamed a bright smile. "Thank you, Robin." Once again Robin was struck by how uncannily Kai resembled Morgan.

Lincoln cleared his throat. "Not that I don't like happy feels time, but can I get some clarification on something?"

"Of course, Lincoln."

The boy held up a finger. "So, you're like, the soul of Grima or whatever that dragon-thing was called, right?"

Robin held back a wince. It still disgusted her to be so intimately connected to such a vile monster. Despite repeated reassurances from her friends and family, she still felt at least in part responsible for everything that had happened.

But that was in the past. "Yes."

"So when you killed that Grima dragon god-thing, you…" Lincoln's brows furrowed. "…died, right? Because you have the same soul?"

"I-yes, you're right."

"So…how are you still alive?"

Robin leaned back into the bed.  _Now that was a question for the ages_.

"To tell the truth, I'm as ignorant about it as you are. When I sacrificed myself, I did so with the knowledge that I'd never see my love and my son and my friends again." She turned to him. "Right now I'd rather focus on the fact that I'm alive, and not how I returned from the dead."

Lincoln leaned back into his chair, and after a while he conceded, "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

A blanket of not-quite-awkward silence fell over them. There really wasn't much they could say after that.

Robin decided to speak up. "Well, I'm still open for any questions you might have."

"Bye Robin!" "See ya." "Have a good evening, Robin."

"Take care you three."

The door closed, leaving the room silent once more. Robin laid back down on her bed, letting out a sigh as she closed her eyes.

Lincoln's first question lingered in her mind like the metallic stench of cast magic. She knew it was useless to think about it, that it would only invite doubt and frustration when she needed determination and a clear mind. But it was a mental rash, an itch on the brain that kept gnawing at her, demanding her attention.  _Who brought me back? Or perhaps,_ what _brought me back? Why_ here _, in Remnant, rather than my own world? And what does this mean for Grima?_

Robin checked the back of her hand again, staring at it, daring the Mark to appear and invalidate all the sacrifice and hardship her friends, her family went through.

Minutes pass. Aside from a tiny mole she just found, her hand is spotless.

The tactician sighed again. "I need to get my mind off of this stupid topic."

She reached over to the side table and opened  _Ninjas of Love_.

* * *

Five minutes later,  _Ninjas of Love_  was back on the side table, firmly closed, upside down, spine away from the door, and buried under three other books. For her part, Robin's cheeks, no,  _face_  was burning hotter than a Bolganone on lava.

_I didn't expect that at all. Oh gods._  Robin had read some steamy romance novels herself—not that she'd admit to anyone—but this…this was bordering on obscene!  _I-I'm pretty sure half of that was physically impossible._

Eventually Robin was able to get her blush under control.  _I wonder if…_ Of course, it was now that she imagined recreating some of those "activities" with her spouse.  _OH GODS!_

After about five more minutes of intense and somewhat-not-unwilling fantasizing, Robin brought her free hand to her forehead, a grin breaking out. She shook her head as she let out a chuckle, which turned into full-blown laughter. She wasn't sure why, possibly from the scandalous thought of reenacting  _Ninjas of Love_ , maybe from the whiplash of pondering the relationship between her life and Grima's to freaking out about overly-sexual romance novels, or it could be the whole ridiculousness of her situation.

Here she was, somehow alive after sacrificing herself, and what does she do? Pledge herself wholeheartedly to fighting endless hellbeasts that could take an Arcthunder to the chest and only be winded. Perhaps the funniest part was that Chrom and Lucina and everyone else would only encourage her decision.  _A Shepherd through and through_.

Finally calming herself down, Robin noticed something about the room. Specifically, what the room was made of.

The walls were made out of material with which Robin was unfamiliar with. It couldn't be wood, for the texture was too uneven. It couldn't have been made from brick or stone, as the surface was too uniform, no evenly scored lines denoting the seams of the bricks or blocks. And she sincerely doubted it was clay, as by all indications the village was in a forested region.

The next thing was the floor. It was wooden boards, which was familiar. However, the craftsmanship was  _much_  more than what she expected of a village. Hell, it rivaled what she saw in the castles and palaces of royalty. Each board was seamless, and Robin couldn't find where the nails have been hammered in. And the cabinets to the side of her were, despite their plainness and utilitarian look, of similar workmanship.

The quality of a noble's house in a village clinic. And a not-particularly famous village either, if Chamomile's thoughts and comments were any indication.

The floodgates were open at this point. All the little things she saw but paid no attention to were examined in excruciating detail. From the casual disposal of the cleaning paper to the unnatural brightness of the lights, to even the quality of the clothing her hosts wore.

What did it say about the state of civilization that a simple village clinic was so much more advanced than some cities she visited?

For the first time, Robin felt like a little fish in an unfamiliar pond. It wasn't the demonic mockeries of animals that were the Grimm. It wasn't the fantastical abilities and weapons her rescuers displayed. No, it was the simple clinic room that truly showed just how, how  _alien_  this world was to her.

Robin lied back and brought a hand to her head and asked, "Where the hell am I?"

No one answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a much lower-key chapter with a bit of info-dump for the FE:A people, don't worry, things will get more exciting. Sorry for the delay, RL stuff got in the way a fair bit and I published a new story in the meantime. Check it out under the title, Glynda's Week Off.
> 
> For those of you who have read it, you may recognize a certain Professor Celeste. I've decided that Glynda's Week Off will be pseudo-canon to Azure Bonds. That means that characters that appear in Glynda's Week Off will appear in Azure Bonds in some capacity, whether as a cameo or in a larger role. In addition, I've modified certain events in canon (primarily the very awkward explanation of Aura to Jaune) so they make slightly more sense (Jaune knows about Aura but has never been able to activate it; Pyrrha explains it anyway cause she's like that). They aren't any drastic plot-changing deviances, just little nudges to dialog to make the world make a bit more sense for the context of my story.
> 
> In any case, thanks for reading! Stay tuned for next chapter, where Robin finally gets out of the goddamned bed holy fuck.


	5. Interlude - Dreams

_Robin ran through the halls of the Ylissean Royal Castle, her robe fluttering behind her. If what "Marth" had said was true, then the Exalt's life was in grave danger. No time to waste._

_As she ran, Robin tried to recall as much of the castle's layout as she could._

_The Exalt's sleeping quarters was actually rather close to the castle's walls, with only a large garden and two hallways standing between the Exalt and any who dared her harm. The room's proximity to the garden was one of the reasons why Emmeryn was so adamant about the location, that and it had easy access to the balcony from which she addressed the citizens so often._

_If Robin was honest, it made horrible tactical sense, as while the walls were heavily guarded, a dedicated and competent team of assassins could slip in and out with none the wiser until it was too late. In fact, were it not for "Marth's" warning, she had no doubt the beloved ruler would be dead now._

_And speaking of which, these recent revelations only added to the conundrum that was "Marth". She had emerged out of a mysterious portal in the sky to save Lissa from the Risen. She wielded an exact replica of the Falchion, a divine weapon of which there was only one in the entire world. She came bearing grim tidings of the future, and while she had only told of Emmeryn's assassination, Robin suspected there was far,far more "Marth" was hiding. Combined with her strikingly beautiful royal blue hair and nearly identical fighting style to Chrom, Robin had a couple theories about just who the enigmatic youth was._

_Robin suddenly realized she'd been staring at "Marth's" lithe legs just a bit too long. Thankfully the clopping of hooves on stone provided a welcome distraction. As the trio slowed down the armored form of Frederick and his horse loomed over them._

_It said a lot how she didn't question how did the man not only manage to suit up in the time it took for them to run to Emmeryn's room but also bring in his stead. Behind him she could see the other Shepherds in various states of readiness, some of them forgoing their usual gear in the rush to arm up._

_"Milord," Frederick nodded to his superior and charge. "I've already assembled most of the Shepherds near the Exalt's quarters. The others were sent to warn the rest of the Royal Guard and search for any other infiltrators."_

_The man bowed his head. "Forgive me, milord. It was my inattentiveness that allowed these assassins to come anywhere near you or the Exalt."_

_"No need to beat yourself up over it, Frederick. There wasn't any way you could have foreseen this." Chrom grinned. "Besides, it's going take a lot more than a couple of sellswords to best me."_

_"As you say, milord."_

_Chrom turned to Robin. "Alright, Robin, I presume you have a plan?"_

_She smiled. "Of course I do."_

_They had ten of the Shepherds available to fight plus "Marth". While the enemy will likely have more soldiers, the corridors and doorways should serve as good chokepoints to deny them a numbers advantage._

_There were three main entrances they needed to worry about. The hallway they just came from and two doorways flanking the Exalt's room. The middle door was much smaller than the other two, and only a token force should be enough to stop any incursions. They opened into a hallway lining the inside of the wall to the garden, which itself had two doorways to the outside._

_The majority of the Shepherds will be concentrated on the flanks. Once the initial push has been beaten back, they were to sweep the same flanks the enemy had attacked from, catching the ones in the middle of the corridor in a pincer movement before regrouping and performing the same with the enemies in the garden._

_Of course, any plan was prone to being thwarted by either enemy action or just plain bad luck. Still, Robin wouldn't consider herself a Tactician if she wasn't capable of adapting._

_Robin began her explanation. "We're splitting into two main groups, one covering the south doorway, one covering the north…" Robin quickly ordered the Shepherds into the two groups she had needed. After a small debate, it was decided that "Marth" would serve as the middle passage way's guardian. As the north group dashed off to their objective, Robin still found herself surprised and just a bit overwhelmed at the trust the Shepherds had unconditionally given her. It was both heartwarming and…a bit scary, to be honest. These people trusted her plans with their lives, trusted her with their lives. She wanted, no, had to prove herself worthy._

_Robin was broken out of her thoughts by a commotion in the back. A woman covered in hair—no, fur—with bunny-like ears braided in her hair had joined the fight on their side. After a brief exchange between Frederick, Chrom, and "Marth", the woman, named Panne, joined with Robin's group._

_Sully, who was bereft of her steed at the moment, was the first to speak with her._

_"So…Panne, was it?"_

_"Do not speak to me man-spawn, I am only here to repay my debt, not associate with your race."_

_Sully bristled, features twisting into a scowl. "I was just gonna ask if you needed a damn sword!"_

_Panne chuffed. "I have no need for the barbaric tools of man-spawn."_

_Before the situation could escalate further, Chrom interjected._

_"Peace, Sully. I'm sure Panne here has come prepared." He turned to said woman as an unspoken question._

_His only response was a "hmph" as the woman pulled out some sort of spherical crystal. It was purplish, the orange flames of the wall-mounted torches dancing throughout the surface and interior like fairies._

_Panne clutched the stone to her chest, light filling the room as the stone disappeared in a cloud of magical energy. Panne dropped to all-fours like a beast, and Robin, standing directly behind the woman's…behind, quickly turned her head away, heat rushing to her face._

_The light solidified into a sphere that covered Panne's entire form. Suddenly it shattered, and everyone stepped back, some gasping as the floor shook with the impact of a heavy weight._

_It—Panne—resembled a rabbit, if a rabbit had glowing red eyes and was bigger than a Cavalier and their mount. Curiously, the pinkish-purple armor Panne wore while she was humanoid had transformed to fit the taguel's new form. As the woman-turned-beast reared up on her haunches, she spoke, her voice warped and distorted._

_"I can defend myself." The rabbit-woman's ears twitched at some unheard noise as she looked to the door. "Prepare yourselves, man-spawn. The assassins arrive."_

_Robin took that as her cue. "All right everyone! Get into positions!"_

* * *

_The assassins had not come in unprepared. They had studied the patrol routes to the very step, determined which guards were easily swayed by a purse of coin, analyzed every crack and nuance of the castle's corridors, spent weeks planning the optimum strategy. Yet every plan was only as good as its executors._

_These assassins were the elite of their cult, augmented by the best men money could buy. They had countless hours of blood and sweat practicing their blades, the thick metallic stench of magic clinging to their robes. And leading them was their superior, the head of their vile cult, the foul aura of Dark Magic permeating his being like that of an unwashed wretch. An aura he basked in._

_They were to come into two waves. The first in were the sellswords. Skill could be bought, but loyalty could not. It was the mercenaries who were kept in the dark, the promises of riches keeping them going. It was them who would be the ones to bleed on the defenders' swords, weakening the guards who were not so easily corrupted for the true assassins._

_These mercenaries ran through the castle expecting drowsy guards and a disorganized defense. Instead they met the disciplined blades of Ylisse's most elite fighting force, and it was these blades that savagely hurled them back._

* * *

_Robin yelled out as she launched another orb of lightning, her target falling to the floor in a smoking mass of charred muscle. Beside her, Chrom neatly deflected an axe before lunging forward. His assailant's battle cry turned into strangled choking as Falchion was buried to the hilt in his chest. A shove sent the body to the floor in a bloody heap. Behind the two Sully engaged another swordsman with Lissa supporting the red-haired woman with her healing spells._

_Feeling the hairs on her skin prickle, Robin sidestepped a blast of Dark Magic, identifying it as a Flux spell. Before she could prepare a counterattack, Panne leapt above her and slammed into the Dark Mage, the floor fracturing under the blow. Panne moved off, and Robin could see a deep paw-shaped indent on the man's torso._

_Seeing themselves outnumbered, the remaining assassins retreated through the door._

_Robin took the lull to update her mental map. If the muffled sounds were any indication, the other group had managed to fend off their own attackers. So far, so good._

_To her side, she could hear Chrom talking with—and apparently recruiting—one of the assailants who had hid himself during the fight. She decided not to fight the smile that creeped onto her face. The man really had the good fortune of somehow finding people who were swayed by his honest charisma._

_"Robin," Chrom pulled Robin away from her thoughts. "The Thief, Gaius, said that this first group were just mercenaries."_

_Robin drew her hand to her chin. "Send in disposable fodder to soften up the targets for the real troops. Whoever planned this meant business."_

_Chrom growled, his grip on Falchion tightening. "Dastards! They won't lay a finger on Emm!"_

_Robin smiled. Chrom tended to act with his feelings more than his mind. And for the most part, it turned out great. Still, she was the Tactician, and thus had to serve as the voice of reason._

_"If we do this right they won't even get near her room," she said. "But if what Gaius said is true, then we're going to have a hell of a fight on our hands. We can't let ourselves be blinded by emotion."_

_Chrom looked to Robin before smiling and patting her shoulder. "Heh, not to worry Robin. I won't let them take advantage of my anger. But…"_

_The sounds of footsteps once again drew near. Already Robin could tell these weren't the unorganized group they fought earlier._

_Chrom shifted into an offensive stance, Falchion reflecting the light of the wall-mounted torches. He grinned. "…I'm not the kind to hold back my feelings."_

_Robin readied her own weapons, her trusty sword and a more powerful Elthunder tome._  
_Around her, Sully and Gaius lifted their own blades while Panne's powerful muscles tensed as she stared at the door like a predator would at prey. Even Lissa puffed herself up, determination shining in her eyes as she hefted her healing stave._

_"For Emmeryn!" Chrom's battle cry was echoed by the Shepherds as they rushed forward to meet the enemy, and the fighting continued once more._

* * *

_Robin's feet tasted the crunch of autumn dirt as she stepped into the courtyard. She chanced a brief glance at the night sky. Beautiful pinpricks of light greeted her, and she had to force herself to pry her eyes away from the breathtaking sight. She always did love the stars._

_Her plan had gone on mostly without a hitch. Already she could see some of the other Shepherds emerging from the north courtyard doorway. Donnel had to be sent back when one of the assassins had managed to cut off his arm. While the healers would be able to reattach it without issue, it would take too long. As a result, Sully was sent to reinforce the north group._

_The remaining assassins, a little less than a dozen, had regrouped around what appeared to be their leader. Even from here, Robin could feel the foul Dark Magic that permeated his being. She shuddered from the feeling._

_She told herself it was because it made her nauseous, and not because of how distressingly familiar it felt._

_She heard Chrom step up behind her. He must have caught sight of the the assassin leader, for she heard him growl out, "There's the dastard who dared attack Emm."_

_Robin eyed the man in question. Even surrounded and outnumbered, he still radiated an aura of confidence. The confidence of someone who still had a trick up their sleeve._

_"We'll have to be careful," Robin said to her friend. "The man looks dangerous, and there's no telling what he's got planned."_

_Panne nodded her large head, ears as tall as her humanoid form bouncing with the motion._

_"A cornered rat always fights the hardest," she rumbled in her distorted voice. "I imagine it to be the same for man-spawn."_

_Of course, Chrom was undeterred. "Then we'll have to fight harder than them. Robin?"_

_She nodded. "All right," Robin began, preparing a spell as she rattled off commands. "Panne, swing around the flank and cut off any who try to flank us. Gaius, follow us and engage anyone who tries to intercept. Lissa, keep doing your thing. Chrom, you and I are going for the head._

_"Go!" Robin punctuated her command with a bolt of Elthunder, sending the assassins scattering to avoid the lightning spell. Their leader didn't budge._

_Panne darted to the side as ordered, her immense bulk belying her agility as the ground was kicked up from her strides. Two of the Cavaliers attempting to flank the Shepherds met one ton of angry Taguel. Like a bolt of Thoron Panne crashed into the first Cavalier, bringing her to the ground with a strangled cry. Her companion swung at Panne, who easily dodged before a swift kick from her powerful legs toppled his horse. As he attempted to get up Panne leapt upon him, stilling his movements with a sickening_ crunch _._

_An assassin's blade gleamed in the moonlight as he swung at Chrom, hoping to decapitate the Ylissean prince. Falchion swung back, and the sword and its wielder fell to the ground in two pieces. Robin launched yet another spell, driving off a Barbarian into the waiting blades of Gaius. In a single swift motion the Thief slipped past the Barbarian's guard and sliced open his throat, sending the man to the ground in a choking heap._

_A Dark Mage unleashed a Flux bolt, and Robin was just a bit too slow in dodging. She bit back a scream as felt the sinister magic eat through the skin of her arm, leaving a sizzling crescent indent in her flesh under her shoulder. In retaliation the skimpily-clad man was shocked by a well-aimed Elthunder, his body twitching in its death throes._

_Before she could linger on the pain Robin felt her skin begin to knit together, undoing the damage the Dark Magic spell had inflicted. She flashed a smile to Lissa, the younger girl responding in kind._

_The northern group had not be idle either. Ricken and Miriel unleashed blasts of wind and fire that had cut down half of the assassins facing them while Kellam, Sully, and Sumia took care of the rest._

_Soon the enemy's numbers were reduced to three. A wounded Dark Mage, a Barbarian, and their leader, who had maintained his smirk even as his troops fell, and if anything Robin thought it had grown bigger._

_She had a really bad feeling about this._

_"Robin, come on!" Chrom cried, his eagerness at ridding the assassins showing. "Let's finish this."_

_Nodding, Robin threw away her used up tome and pulled out her trusty sword._

_Before she could follow everything went wrong._

_"Well, well, Robin. Submit to me, and rid ourselves these pathetic fools!"_

_Time seemed to slow as Robin's vision distorted and she tried to clutch her head with the pain pounding with every heartbeat. She felt claws and tendrils worming their way into her mind and scratching her skull and then suddenly her felt blood on her hands and looked up and saw Chrom coughing blood._

_"R-Robin-?" he croaked before slumping to the ground red liquid flowing out and staining the flowers and blackening his cape._

_Time seemed to stop and Robin stared in horror at her friend who wasn't moving and was so still. She heard screaming but it wasn't her it was Lissa, her eyes were wide with fear her stave forgotten on the ground and Robin realized her body wasn't screaming it was laughing, laughing, laughing a laugh that wasn't hers._

_Her mouth moved and spoke but she wasn't the one to say it and her arm lifted to Lissa wreathed in Dark Magic. Lissa was paralyzed with legs shaking but was thrown aside by a red-haired thief who clutched his gut that was gone and fell over in two. Panne snarled something but stopped when the sword Robin still held was shoved into her head and the rabbit laid dead at her feet slain like a beast._

_Sumia and Sully and everyone else cried out and charged her. She felt an unnatural smile as tried to stop her hands and the spell but she couldn't she felt the claws crush her mind when she resisted and then her Shepherds her friends her family lay dead and dying and gone._

_This wasn't how it was supposed to go. This wasn't how it happened._

_Then she saw her. Her long, deep cerulean hair waved as she stopped and saw what happened. Her beautiful blue eyes widened in shock, in fear, in rage. Hands that were once delicate but now calloused through combat gripped the divine sword so hard that they turned white. Long, lithe legs shook with anger and grief. Pale, soft lips were stained red as Robin ran her through._

No no NO! _Robin tried to cry out but instead she laughed and laughed and laughed._

_Robin had a mouth, but she couldn't scream._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a lot more Fire Emblem than RWBY. Decided to show a bit about how this version of FE:A "played out" in terms of combat and mechanics.
> 
> Originally was going to have this just be the first third of chapter 5, but it went 1k over my intended goal so I decided to let it be standalone.
> 
> Merry Christmas!


	6. Dusty Tomes

Robin bolted up, chest heaving with desperate breaths. She winced, her ribs flaring with pain from the sudden movement.

It had only taken her a few frantic moments to remember where she was. _Just a dream_. She closed her eyes and slowly laid back down. She hasn't had one this bad since…since before her marriage.

Hurried footsteps brought her attention to the door, which opened to reveal a slightly disheveled Chamomile in an apron and pajamas.

"Robin, are you alright?" the blonde doctor asked worriedly. She already reached Robin's side, checking the devices at the bedside. "I heard screaming."

Robin put up what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. It was…was just a bad dream."

Chamomile paused to look at Robin, her brow furrowed and mouth working unsaid words. Eventually she just sighed.

"Well, if you say so. I'm cooking breakfast," she tipped her head in the direction of the alluring aroma of sizzling meat. "Just an omelette with sausages. Is that alright?"

Robin smiled. "Of course." Any chance to eat more of the doctor's delicious cooking was greatly appreciated.

Chamomile nodded. "Alright, I'll bring you a tray."

Robin waited until the door was closed and the steps faded before she let go of the sheet with a shuddering breath, her free hand shaking with the ghosts of now-forgotten nightmares.

* * *

 

It was about noon when Robin finally got out of the bed.

After breakfast, much of the morning was spent with Chamomile performing various tests and examinations, both with the devices and through means more familiar to Robin. Every now and then she took breaks to explain exactly what she was doing and the various pieces of Remnant technology.

_To be able to see someone's bones in just minutes…_ she thought in wonder. And this was just _one_ of the many devices that littered Chamomile's humble clinic.

This world kept getting more and more amazing every minute, ever-present genocidal demonic beasts of darkness aside. If this was just what was available in a simple village clinic, then Robin had no doubt what lied in the Kingdoms would wow her. Morgan would have a field day learning about every single thing he could get his hands on.

And she just made herself depressed again. _Shit_.

Chamomile must have noticed her expression while she was explaining the principles behind lighting and electricity. "Is something the matter?"

Robin sighed. "No, not really. Just…thought about my son again."

Chamomile nodded in sympathy. "I see."

They lapsed into silence after that, Robin contenting herself with discretely reading _Ninjas of Love_ behind another book and fighting the heat that rushed to her cheeks and Chamomile reviewing the "exrays" she took.

Eventually Chamomile seemed to come to a decision. "Robin?"

Robin looked up, hoping to Naga that her face showed no signs of fluster. "Yes, Chamomile?"

The woman took one last quick look at the "exrays" as she asked, "How do you feel about taking a walk outside?"

Robin raised an eyebrow. "Really? So soon?"

Chamomile nodded. "Yeah. Your Aura has already healed the majority of your injuries already, particularly your ribs and arm. Frankly I'm quite surprised. Normally it would take the average person a few good days of intensive healing to get this level of progress." She gave Robin an appraising smile. "You must have a lot of Aura."

Robin grimaced internally. She had an idea of why she supposedly had a lot of Aura. It always came back to _him_ didn't it?

Outwardly Robin smiled, saying, "Well, you're the doctor. I suppose I can't stay in this comfortable bed forever."

"I paid good money for _ten_ of these things. Of course they're comfy."

Chamomile gently helped Robin up, and within five minutes the Tactician was only slightly wobbling as she stood. The cut on her leg still hurt as did her ribs, however it was more of an incessant itch than a gaping wound or shattered bones.

Robin was very familiar with those.

"If it hurts too much, I've got some painkillers you can take," said Chamomile.

Robin waved her off with her free hand. "I'm alright. Let's go."

The ceiling of the hallway they entered was the same textured white as the room prior. To her left, she could see the hallway extend to show several more doors, presumably leading into additional rooms like Robin's. To her right, the hallway opened into a large living space.

Once again Robin was astounded by the craftsmanship in a "simple clinic". The ceiling was raised up high to slant with the roof while wooden beams crossed the expanse. In the center, what looked to be a miniature version of a windmill with the "lightbulbs" Chamomile talked about hung parallel to the floor. Directly to Robin's right was a well-crafted rug along with a beautiful wooden table and what looked to be a large set of chairs that seemed to be made out of leather. _Leather!_ These faced a large black rectangular box which Robin guessed was a "teevee". To the left was what looked to be a kitchen area blocked off by a bar similar to the ones found at pubs. It even had the accompanying stools, whose construction were as always leagues above what Robin had encountered or expected.

Needless to say, Robin was impressed.

"Are you _sure_ you're just a village doctor?" she asked as she took in the fine paintings on the walls.

Chamomile's expression turned serious. "You got me. I'm actually the displaced royalty of Mantle. I'm only biding my time before I launch a revolution and reclaim my rightful throne."

They locked eyes. Minutes seemed to pass before the two burst out in laughter.

Robin brought a hand to her mouth. "You _are_ joking, right?" She asked.

"Of course. Hang on." The doctor paused. "I forgot something."

She snapped her fingers. "Ah, that's right, you need your clothes. Please wait here."

Chamomile jogged off upstairs, leaving Robin alone. With a shrug, she sat down in one of the chairs and found herself assaulted by the cushioning softness enveloping her rear. _Sweet Naga this feels_ so _good!_ It was like her butt was being caressed by a dozen fluffy sheep. That were also clouds. Fluffy cloud sheep who were Chon'sin masseuses.

"Aaaaahhhh~" With a blissful smile Robin relaxed into absurdly comfortable chair.

A breeze from somewhere reminded her she wasn't wearing pants.

"Ghh—!" Robin felt her face heat up as she crossed her legs. She glanced to the stairs. _Where's Chamomile?_

The sound of footsteps on wood answered her question, Chamomile holding a familiar pile of neatly folded clothing.

"Hope I hadn't kept you waiting for too long." She handed the stack of clothes to Robin. "You can use your room to change."

Robin smiled. "Thank you Chamomile."

* * *

Several minutes later Robin was once again lounging in Chamomile's extraordinarily comfortable chair. Chamomile had shown her the reclining feature, which frankly was one of the best inventions she'd seen out of Remnant so far. They had just finished the sandwiches that Chamomile prepared, and currently Robin was waiting for the the humble doctor to finish putting away the dishes.

Absently she wiped a crumb off her robe. It felt…comforting, to be back in these well-worn robes. She examined a sleeve. The three purple eyes emblazoned on it stared back. When she learned of her heritage, she detested them. Hated them so much for what they represented that she refused to wear them for a whole week.

Ironically it was the Plegian members of the Shepherds who convinced her otherwise. Tharja had told her that no one ( _especially_ Tharja herself, the Dark Mage had made explicitly clear) cared about her origins, but the person that existed now. Henry, the blood-crazy maniac, had told her it didn't matter what she wore or looked like, it was the insides that mattered.

Of course, he said this after he brutally flayed a man alive with a spell, so Robin wasn't quite sure they were talking about the same subject. She really didn't want to ask for confirmation.

Nonetheless, reasoning that they had become as part of her identity as her ashen hair, she wore the robes again with pride. It was also approaching winter, so that was also a factor.

"I must say," she said absently. "You really fixed these up well. It's like they were never torn."

"Oh that wouldn't be me," Chamomile replied as she stepped to Robin. "The only needles I'm good with are medical ones. Cate's the one who mended it." The doctor offered her a hand. "You should really see her dresses. Sometimes I wonder if she's a Mistralian fashion designer in disguise."

Robin took the hand, reluctantly pulling herself up from the siren softness. "Considering you're displaced royalty, I'd believe it."

Chamomile smirked. "Getting sassy here are we? Careful Robin, don't want to annoy the chef."

"Somehow, that's the most threatening thing I've heard in my life."

They stopped in front of the door. Chamomile gave Robin one last look. "You ready to step out into the wide open world?"

Robin took a breath. "As much as I'll ever be."

Chamomile nodded. "Then let's go."

The door opened, and Robin crossed the threshold into a new world.

* * *

When Robin stepped out to the village proper, she wasn't quite sure what she was expecting. Probably floating houses or something.

Falling back on instincts, Robin did a quick scan of her surroundings, filling her mental map of the location.

The most prominent feature was the dark grey road that cut through the village's center. It wasn't composed of any building material Robin had ever seen, a smooth expanse of some sort of rock that was marred by the occasional spidery cracks that crawled across its surface. A quick glance to her sides confirmed Robin's suspicions of a wall and gates at the far ends of the village, both barriers easily two stories tall.

To her left, various homely buildings constructed out of some fine-looking brick and wood sat around the main road. On the opposite side, she saw what looked to be a church painted in bright pastel, a store with rather extravagant glass windows proudly displaying various goods, and an inn with the words "The Pumpk-Inn" written humbly above the door. _Clever_ , she thought with a smile. Directly neighboring Chamomile's clinic to the left stood a rather nondescript white building with a high red roof. Beyond that Robin couldn't see much due to the angle, but they seemed to just be more stores.

Directly in front of the clinic, she could see a dirt and gravel road leading to two sizeable red brick houses. Beyond them the road branched into a smaller pathway that cut through a crop field, the nearly mature vegetables providing a contrast of color to the dull grey wall in the background.

Robin's eyes were soon drawn to a massive monolithic building. It was easily the tallest building in the village, half again as tall as the church, and unlike the others it was made out of faded white vertical planks. The black roof of the building was slanted towards the road, while wide windows spread evenly underneath the lip of the roof emptied light into the darkness beyond. Jutting out from the side the side was a smaller and comparatively plain boxy addition with tiny barred windows.

Out of the corner of her vision, she could see a red barn and several livestock grazing about.

She must have lingered on the building for too long as Chamomile spoke up.

"Impressed? That's the Garage. Home of our very own mobile fortress," she said with pride.

"Mobile fortress?" Okay, Robin understood that a village from Remnant would be vastly different than one from her own world, but _come on_. "Now this I have to see."

"Well I'll have to ask Sesame for the keys, but I'm sure with Ferrum and me vouching for you we can—"

Chamomile was interrupted by a loud growling roar. It came from the left—several dozen yards away she estimated—and with such suddenness and volume that Robin's instincts honed by years of combat kicked in. Her free hand went to her side as she whipped her body around into a defensive posture, attempting to shield the doctor from whatever threat had come. She cursed internally as she groped the empty sheath.

"Ah."

Fortunately, it wasn't some sort of horrifying monstrosity.

It looked vaguely like a carriage, if a carriage was smashed into a cart, made out of metal, self-propelled, and roared like a wyvern. The coloring was faded light blue, rust and dull steel patterning itself on the frame like the spots of a leopard. In the passenger compartment, she could see a lanky-looking blonde gripping some sort of wheel, while in the back his rotund compatriot sat against the sides of the cart-looking part.

Recalling all those romanc— _adventure_ novels as well as a bit of the morning's conversation, Robin surmised this must be one of those "cars" things. It let out a squeal as it stopped in front of the clinic.

"Hey Chams!" the blonde called out. "Me and Raz're headed to the Falls!"

"You'd better not be messing around on the rocks again!" Chamomile admonished, irritation painting her voice. "Next time you twist your ankle you're making your own cast!"

He laughed. "Ain't no one make 'em the way you do Chams!"

Chamomile brought an annoyed hand to her furrowed brow.

"Don't worry Ma'am." His companion in the back tipped his hat, drawling out his words as if savoring each one. It reminded Robin a bit of Donnel. "Ah'll make sure he don't do nothin' rash."

"…Just _try_ to act with a modicum of caution for your well-being?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die!" The blonde yelled out, a cocky grin plastered on his face. The car growled as it started to move.

"We'll bring ya some good fish when we get back!" His words were barely audible as the metallic beast roared off to the gate.

The doctor let out a heavy sigh. "I swear, every month he comes in with at least one injury."

" _Every_ month?" Robin asked.

"Since he was a child! I swear, if I had a lien for every visit from him, I could finance my own personal airship."

Robin raised an eyebrow at "airship". Questions for another time, perhaps.

"Maybe he likes you?" Robin ventured.

"Pfft," Chamomile scoffed. "As flattering as that is, he's way too young for me."

"Come on, what's the problem with a little virility in your men?"

Chamomile laughed. "Did you really just say _virility_? Now I regret lending you those books. Does that make me a 'nubile young maiden' then?"

"What's this I hear 'bout 'nubile young maidens'?"

"Ah, Ferrum!" Chamomile and Robin waved to the approaching form of the aged Huntsman. He wore the same attire as yesterday, save for the bright blue shirt that clashed rather badly with his red jacket.

"Robin's barely out of the bed for an hour and she's already playing matchmaker," Chamomile said, smiling. "Better keep her away from Kai, else you'll find yourself a father-in-law before the day's over."

Robin felt a chill crawl up her spine as Ferrum narrowed his eyes. "Perhaps I was wrong about this one. She _is_ a danger to the village."

For several agonizing seconds Robin felt the intense stare of the elder Huntsman and barely fought the urge to shrink back before his serious expression broke, chuckling as he shook his head.

"Nah I kid." He clasped Robin's shoulder and gestured towards the far end of the village. "Come, the kids n' I wanted ta give ya a proper demonstration of fightin' here in Remnant."

"I'd appreciate it. Are you coming with us, Chamomile?" Robin asked.

The doctor shook her head. "If it's fine with you, I think I'll pass. I've got some work that needs to be done."

Robin and Ferrum said their goodbyes and headed off.

Strolling through the village, the atmosphere was certainly a lot more lively than Robin would expect from people surrounded on all sides by demonic beasts. Children ran and played, shopkeepers haggled stories with familiar customers, smiles and laughter were exchanged with the ease one does breathing. Throughout her travels, Robin had visited towns with less spirit than a village with a wall around it.

It was nice.

"So," Ferrum began. "What do ya think of fair Remnant?"

"I'm impressed," Robin admitted. "At the technology you possess and…" She gestured to several children playing with a ball, seemingly oblivious to the dangers that lurk outside the wall. "…the spirit you display. Knowing that these Grimm are always out there, always waiting to tear down humanity, that every day could be the last…

"People have despaired with less."

"Mmm." Ferrum nodded.

They rounded the corner into a dirt and gravel road that forked into two other paths. Crowding alongside the road were houses of various construction and design—Robin guessed no more than ten in all. The oldest were constructed exclusively out of wood and simple in make, additions to their structure fitting like mismatched clothing. The newest ones were made out of either brick or the same style of planks as the Garage and more daring in their shape. Several sported larger doors, presumably to hold cars.

Ferrum traded greetings with several residents lounging on their porches, and Robin could feel their curious gazes linger upon her.

"I s'pose when ya grew up with them as a fact a' life," Ferrum said. "Ya see it like the rain or a tornado. Just something to deal with when it pops up. With more teeth n' claws, of course."

"Like a force of nature, huh?" Robin looked skyward. It was an idyllic day, the clouds scattered in wondrous white puffy patterns.

"Well I'm pretty sure you can't stab a tornado to death with a sword," she said with a grin.

Ferrum chuckled. "I s'pose ya can't."

Taking the left path, they crossed a quaint little bridge with an equally quaint little stream that dipped into the village's outskirts. There the path opened into a large grassy clearing, a wooden mill a ways to the left and several abandoned structures to the right. Around them the village's wall stood impassively.

Ferrum pointed to the half-built skeletons of buildings. "Used ta be the property of the original founders. Died not one day after Endurance was 'stablished. Ever since, anyone who's lived there has suffered grisly fates. Everyone thinks the place is cursed 'n haunted, so it was left abandoned. We use the place fer trainin' nowadays."

As they neared the deserted ruins, Robin could hear what must have been Kai, Lincoln, and Ivory. Ferrum put a finger to his lips and winked, and Robin lightened her footsteps.

Peering around the corner, she could see the three teens lounging around a stump. Kai laid out sprawled on the grass, kicking her feet in the air. Ivory was kneeling demurely at the stump's base, while Lincoln sat on the cut-down tree remains behind her. Even from here, Robin could see the care and expertise with which the dog-eared boy braided Ivory's smooth long hair. The braid was intricate, a gorgeous knotted pattern that Robin knew many noble ladies would have paid egregious amounts of gold for.

By now, Robin was close enough that she could pick up the conversation.

"…do I always gotta put my foot in my mouth?" Lincoln asked. "Like, seriously, who the fuck asks, 'Oh you should've been _dead_ , why aren't you dead?' Come on."

"Oh come on Linc." Kai rolled over to face her friend. "I'm sure Robin's not gonna hold that against you."

"How do you know? That doesn't change the fact that I was stupid."

"There's no need to insult yourself Lincoln," Ivory said.

Lincoln scoffed as he finished up the braid. "Yeah, 'cause you do that for me."

"It's a hobby."

Robin decided to cut in, walking out from the corner. "You know if you're worried about offending me you can just ask."

After she spoke, Lincoln had performed a fantastic impression of a startled cat, leaping a good three yards into the air. Sadly Robin would have had to deduct points for the landing, as he somehow managed to faceplant on the grass.

"Hi Dad! Hi Robin!" In an impressive display of speed, Kai tackle-hugged her father before Lincoln had even managed to touch the ground. It reminded Robin of Morgan's touchy-feely tendencies.

She clenched her fist to suppress the ache in her heart.

"So," Robin said. "Ferrum brought me along to watch you guys train."

"Really? That's awesome!" Kai clapped her hands, stars in her eyes as she hopped in place. "I can't wait to show off all our moves! Right guys?"

"Yeah, can't wait to embarrass myself even more," Lincoln sarcastically replied as Ivory helped him up.

Kai stuck her tongue out. "Quit being a sour puss."

"I'm a _dog_ faunus, thank you."

Paying no heed to her bickering friends, Ivory turned to Robin. "It is nice to see you out of bed, Robin."

The Tactician smiled. "Likewise."

"Once Robin's all healed up," Ferrum spoke, quieting Kai and Lincoln. "She'll be helping us with the Grimm while she gets acclimated with Remnant."

"Does this mean you'll show us your magic spells!?" Kai exclaimed, all but vibrating in place. Her friends likewise had perked up at the possibility.

"I'd love to, but," Robin shrugged sheepishly. "I used up all my tomes while I was being chased by the Grimm. While I can do magic without my them, I'm much more limited in what I can do."

Kai's shoulder slumped. "Aw…"

"Actually," Ferrum interjected. "I think I gotcha covered. After our conversation yesterday I got a lil search party ta look fer any a' yer possessions that ya might've been lost. Found a buncha colored books with symbols on 'em. Those sound like yer tomes?"

Now that was good news.

"Yes, actually," she said. "I was a bit worried, while I know my way around a blade, I'm nowhere near skilled as you guys."

"Nonsense!" Ferrum clasped Robin's shoulder. "All ya need's a bit a' practice. Ya know what? Howabout I get 'em while the ya watch the kids practice?"

She nodded. "Sounds good. Oh! Do you think you could bring along some Dust as well? I'd like to see how they'd interact with my magic."

Ferrum brought a hand to his chin in thought. "Hmm, I 'spose I could ask Felix for a couple crystals…

"I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, the kids can go ahead n' spar while I'm gone. Three hit rule. Ya kids got it?"

"Yeah I got it." "Okay dad!" "Yes, Mr. Rubidigo."

"I told ya not ta call me that, makes me feel old," Ferrum said with a wink.

Kai giggled. "But you _are_ old!"

He pulled Kai into a headlock, ruffling her hair up fiercely to the girl's giggling squeals.

"I don't want any more sass outta you young lady!" he jokily chastised. "Else yer not gettin' desert tonight."

"Nooo!"

"Alright." Ferrum released his daughter and started off back into the village. "I'll be back shortly. Take care!"

"See ya." "Bye dad!" "Goodbye, Mr. Rubidigo." "Bye Ferrum."

Ferrum rounded the corner, and Robin was once again left alone with the three teens. The four of them traded awkward glances.

…

Kai sneezed.

"Bless you," three voices responded in unison.

"Thanks."

…

"So, uh…" Lincoln began, wavering slightly as attention was focused on him. "I guess Kai 'n I'll start?"

* * *

Lincoln and Kai stood about twenty paces from each other, weapons drawn and ready. Robin and Ivory were seated on and near the stump, respectively.

Kai's stance was loose, shifting from one foot to the other. Her short sword—Rigan-ryuu, she had called it—was gripped in her right hand while her left remained free. It was similar to the stances she saw from Severa and Inigo, though Kai lacked the crucial shield. Considering her attitude about her parent, Robin wondered why Kai went without one.

Lincoln on the other hand, wielded his strange sword—he had declined to give her its name to the amusement of his friends—more like a club in a two-handed grip. He took steady, deep breaths as he alternatingly clenched and unclenched his hands.

"Is everyone ready?" Ivory asked. After the two replied in the affirmative, she began the countdown. "Begin in three, two, on—"

"Wait!" Kai suddenly yelled out. "Shouldn't we tell Robin our Semblances so she's not confused or anything?"

Lincoln sighed, his posture slackening. "I guess…?"

Robin for her part, simply shrugged. "I'm fine as long you guys don't have a problem with it."

"Okay!" Kai exclaimed, hopping in place as stars dancing in her eyes. "Lessee…"

With much flair, Kai thrusted her free arm out. A moment later a shape formed, blue energy coalescing into a vaguely spear-like shape. Robin recognized it as similar in construction to the arrows and bowstring Kai had formed previously.

"I can make stuff!" The blue-haired girl declared with pride. She waved the spear in the air like an artist would their magnum opus.

"Way to be specific," Lincoln commented, leaning his chin and hands on his sword planted blade-first in the ground.

"Shush you. Ahem!"

Twirling the constructed spear, Kai threw it into the air. As it reached its apex, the spear detonated in a brilliant display of blue energy.

"Tada!"

Kai bowed as her audience applauded.

"Very impressive, Kai," Robin said, to which the girl beamed. "So are there any limitations to your Semblance?"

"Oh, um…" Kai blinked. "Well, uh…"

It was quite clear she hadn't expected to be questioned on the fine points of her powers as she fidgeted and scratched the back of her head.

"Well, I hafta use my Aura t'make 'em, and if I make 'em complicated it uses more. I only really use it to throw explody stuff at Grimm. I tried makin' a gun but it didn't really work out well…" The girl trailed off as pink tinged her cheeks, her confidence wavering.

Taking a bit of pity on the girl—not because it reminded her of Morgan whenever he got in trouble—Robin said, "Well sometimes you don't need a fancy weapon; all you need is an exploding potato."

Kai giggled. "Hehe, thanks Robin."

"…Why a potato?" Lincoln asked.

"Story for another time." The less said about the time Henry and Miriel tried to cook, the better. Robin still had _scars_.

"Alrighty." Kai seemed to be back in high spirits. "Well, howabout you Linc?"

Straightening up, the boy swung his sword in a diagonal arc. Robin saw an ethereal image of the blade twice as large as the original flash into existence, seeming to extend from the original sword. Any thoughts of it being an illusion were crushed as the ground shook from the blow, a divot matching the larger sword marking its effects as physical as its progenitor. The image had vanished by then, the hole the only proof it existed.

"I can project bigger versions of stuff I swing," Lincoln simply stated. "Hits just as hard as if I hit them normally."

Robin put a finger to her chin. "I can definitely see how that could be useful. It would allow you to engage a foe while reducing the risk of harm to yourself. Not to mention you could trip them up with varying the range of your attacks, striking them when they believed themselves to be safe."

Lincoln stared at her blankly. "Uh, yeah. All that stuff."

"Hm, are you only limited to swings or…?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I can do stuff like punch and kick and stuff."

"Good to know." Robin turned to Ivory. "I recall you teleporting earlier. Is that your Semblance or something else?"

Ivory pulled her hair over her shoulder, the lithe girl fiddling with the end of her braid as she spoke. "Yes it is, Robin. I can teleport to objects I have infused with my Aura. I can only teleport if I have clear line-of-sight to them."

"I see."

The conversation trailed off, and soon threatened to lapse into the same awkward silence that plagued the four before.

"You know," Robin began. "A lot of people from my world would kill to have abilities like yours." The sad part was that she wasn't speaking metaphorically. People like Walhart, Gangrel, Validar; all of them wanted power for their own nefarious ends, and all of them were willing to do whatever it took to get it.

"But doesn't your world have magic n' stuff?" Kai asked.

"It does," Robin admitted. "But it's more along the lines of a discipline most anyone could learn, not unique personal abilities. For example, while there are teleport spells, many of them require setup and aren't optimal in the heat of battle." She brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "The closest we have to Ivory's Semblance are Rescue staffs, and they're a lot more limited in what they can do."

"But it's _maaaagic_!" Kai insisted, wiggling her fingers.

"Kai she's not from some cartoon," Lincoln retorted. "She can't wave a wand and have fluffy pegasus unicorns fly into the sky barfing rainbows." Suddenly his eyes go wide and he turned to Robin. "Uh, you can't do that, can you?"

Robin put a hand to her chin. "Well, technically we do have certain species of pegasus with horns—" The look on Lincoln's face was hilarious. "—but sadly we don't have a spell to have them barf rainbows."

The boy breathed a sigh of relief.

"Wait you have pegasuses?!" Kai was bouncing in place at the mention of the aerial equines. " _Ohmygodwhataretheylike_?!"

Chuckling at the girl's enthusiasm, Robin leaned back. "Well they're a lot like horses, though they're a lot more skittish. For some reason they tend to only accept women as their riders, though I _have_ heard of a few men capable of using pegasus mounts. And it's pegasi, not pegasuses."

"Have _you_ ever ridden one?"

"Uh…I _have_ , but I'm not much of a flier," Robin admitted. "I prefer having solid ground under me." She had apologized _profusely_ to Cordelia after nearly throwing up on her armor during a training exercise. That was the last time she ever going more than ten feet above ground.

"You know, as much as I like discussing flying ponies," Lincoln cut in. "Kai we still gotta do the spar thing remember?"

Kai groaned, her shoulders slumping. "Ugh, _fine_ poopy-head." Lincoln stuck his tongue out. "Robin could you please start us?"

The Tactician nodded, and once Lincoln and Kai got into their stances she called out, "Ready!"

The two tensed up.

"Begin!"

They lept into action. Lincoln lunged forward, a swing leading into a projected punch with his offhand just barely missing Kai. Rolling under his attacks she swung and was barely blocked by Lincoln, the metal of their swords ringing out as they struck each other.

With all of her mental facilities not focused on concussions and blood loss, Robin was able to analyze the two fighters a lot better.

Her initial assessment of Lincoln's style as crude was mostly correct. At times it seemed like he wielded his weapon more like a club than a sword, and he often made use of punches and kicks in conjunction with his Semblance. However Robin could tell he wasn't just swinging wildly. He was certainly very aggressive, pushing the offensive as much as he could with or without his weapon. This was how he scored the first hit, as Kai, unbalanced from a near-miss, was left wide open to a projected roundhouse kick that sent the girl flying. Yet at the same time he wasn't too reckless, pulling back before he overextended himself.

Kai on the other hand, focused more on agility than her counterpart, performing acrobatic moves Robin had only seen with Lucina and Chrom. It was a lot like the differences between the Barbarian class and the Mercenary class, to borrow familiar terminology. One focused on power, the other much more balanced but possessing a clear advantage in speed to its counterpart. Kai was definitely faster than Lincoln, allowing her to dodge nearly all of his attacks, her counterattacks only blocked because of Lincoln preemptively bringing his sword into position even before she started to swing.

That was another thing Robin had noticed. The way the two fought spoke of intense familiarity with the other's fighting style, the kind that is only born out of months or even years of fighting side-by-side. The spar was more like a dance, the ebb and flow of combat smooth unlike the brutally quick nature of a real battle.

Robin heard someone walk up next to her. A quick glance confirmed it was Ferrum, holding a steel box, a bag, and a broken sword she recognized as hers. She turned back to the fight.

The score now was two to two, Kai and Lincoln facing each other during a lull in the spar. They stared each other down, breathing slightly heavier than before as they waited for the other to make a move.

It was Lincoln that broke the stalemate first, lunging forward with a horizontal slash. Kai leapt forward and above it, a blue spear materializing in her hand. At the apex of her jump she threw it down, Lincoln twisting out of the way as he swung again hoping to hit her before she landed. Kai swung faster, a blue blade of energy emanating from her sword. Lincoln staggered from the hit, but his sword's momentum continued, catching Kai by the legs. The two fell to the ground, weapons scattered around them.

A moment later Kai thrust her fist into the air.

"I won!"

"By like half a second," Lincoln retorted.

"That still means you lost~"

"Good job you two," Ferrum said. "Still have lotsa room fer improvement. Lincoln, yer aggressiveness's bitin' ya in the keister. Slow down some, otherwise yer gonna find yerself knee-high in Bramblebeasts."

"Yeah, alright," the boy replied. "Fucking hate those things…" he muttered more to himself.

"Kai, yer leavin' yerself open too much tryin' ta do yer fancy moves. Sometimes ya gotta keep it simple."

"Aw but it's not as cool."

"Cool don't matter when yer dead, Kai."

Kai's shoulders slumped. "Fiiiine." She perked up when she saw the bag. "Oh! Are those Robin's magic stuff?"

"Yep. Gotta buncha coloring books innit," he said, winking as he offered it to Robin.

Lincoln raised an eyebrow. "Coloring books? You serious?"

"Yep," Robin answered with a grin. "Lots of yellows, greens, and reds."

Ignoring the incredulous, confused, and inquisitive looks of Lincoln, Kai, and Ivory respectively, Robin took out the tomes gathered neatly inside, laying them at her feet.. They weren't unscathed; some bore scratch and teeth marks, others were slightly singed, a couple were missing chunks of their content, and the covers of almost all were dented and bent, but it was better than nothing.

Two Elthunders, one Thoron, three Fires, two Dying Blazes, one Elwind, and one Arcwind. Not exactly the most impressive of arcane libraries, but it'll have to do for now.

"Woah…" Kai opened a Fire tome. "Look at all these symbols n' stuff! This must be a really powerful magic spell, right?"

"Actually it's the second weakest combat spell I've used."

"…Oh."

"I can't read any of this." Lincoln's brow was furrowed as he thumbed through Thoron.

"I assume magical books from another world would use a foreign language," Ivory said.

"Well, I—I just—it's—" Sputtering, the boy groaned in frustration. "Ugh fucking words. Robin's from another world and _she_ can talk and read our language."

Ivory opened her mouth and closed it, brow creasing.

Ferrum rubbed his chin. "Ya know, that _is_ rather strange all things considered."

"I have to admit I originally thought you were all just speaking Ylissean," Robin admitted. "I suppose it could whatever caused me to arrive in Remnant granted me the ability to understand the native language."

"Sooo…magic?" Kai threw out.

They all looked to one another before nodding.

"It's as good an answer as any," Robin said.

Lincoln sighed. "Yeah, I guess. Fucking unicorn pegasi…"

"Well," Robin began. "I suppose since you've given me a taste of your fighting abilities, it's only fitting I show you what _I_ can do."

"Magic, magic, magic…" Kai started chanting.

"Will ya need help?" Ferrum gestured to Robin's cast arm.

"I can manage." She placed a Fire tome so it lay flat on her cast. "Just give me the tomes I ask for."

She walked to the center of the sparring area, taking care to step over fresh abuse from the recent fight. Lincoln had taken her seat on the stump, while Ferrum had an arm wrapped around Kai, the blue-haired girl baring an eager grin as she leaned into her father's side and bounced in place.

Robin took a deep breath. "I guess I should start with a brief explanation. I'm not exactly an expert on this, but I consider myself well-learned.

"Everyone has a pool of magic within them. The amount determines how easily and how well you can cast spells. Some naturally have a large pool of magic, others not so much. While training and…other…methods can increase the amount of magic you have, for some—" She thought of Chrom. "—it's much more efficient to whack things with swords.

"Now, there's several different classes of magic. You have cantrips, which are simple magic spells that mainly serve to ease regular living, such as lightening a load or brightening a room. The vast majority of magic-wielders tend to only know a few cantrips. Then you have Anima and healing magics, which require years of training to master. Finally you have Dark Magic, which is a completely different discipline. I'm the least familiar with this branch of magic, but it tends to deal with hexes and curses and stuff like that. Their combat-oriented spells tend to focus on affecting the soul."

Lincoln raised a hand. "Wait, what do you mean 'affect the soul'? Like, voodoo doll-type stuff?"

"Well, some Dark Mages use voodoo dolls—" "Oh come on." "—but most Dark Magic combat spells tend to do things like enshroud you in suffocating clouds of darkness, infuse your body with dark lightning before exploding, and sapping your very life energy."

The teens gulped.

"But let's not dwell on that," Robin continued. "Now, even the simplest Anima spell takes up a lot of magic. The average Mage can only cast a few Fire or Wind spells on their own before tiring. This is where the tomes come in. Each page is filled with the necessary rune enchantments and inscriptions to direct magic into the spell. In addition each page is infused with magic to fuel the spell. When the spell is cast, the magic in the pages is consumed along with the pages themselves. This way, a Mage can cast many more spells than they would normally would be able to."

Kai perked up. "Oh! So tomes are like magical disposable batteries."

Robin wasn't entirely sure what "batteries" were, but she rolled with it. "I suppose so. Now, how about I actually demonstrate some spells?"

And so Robin began drawing the magic out of the Fire tome, feeling the energies within responding to her call. She slowed down the process as much as she could to allow her audience a good chance to observe. The book opened on its own accord, the pages fluttering as flecks of fire danced around Robin's fingers and gathered in her hand, the protective magic within the spell shielding her from harm. Glowing sigils flashed into existence, surrounding themselves around Robin's body and hand.

In the corner of her eye, Robin thought she saw a flash of recognition in Ferrum's eyes. _How peculiar_.

By now the spell had reached its peak, having consumed nearly all of its related pages. With a shout of "Fire!" the spell was released, a ball of fire launching toward an empty patch of ground.

It detonated, a two yard wide explosion of fire blossoming out from the point of impact and consuming the surrounding grass in burning flames. While certainly impressive, Fire itself had many drawbacks that left it near the bottom of the totem pole in terms of power. The projectile itself was rather slow and easily dodged with good enough reflexes and the actual damage of the spell, while adequate for taking out one or two human enemies, lacked the sheer power and area of effect that was required for the large scale battles Robin often participated in.

The stench of cooked human flesh was another downside.

Applause shook Robin out of unpleasant memories. Smiling, she bowed to her audience, taking care to make sure the tome didn't fall down.

"Wow! That was really cool Robin!" Kai exclaimed.

Lincoln shrugged. "Eh, I've seen better in the Vytal Tournament."

"Linc! That's just Dust. This is _real magic_!"

"Kai, Robin can do the detachable finger trick right now and you'd be hailing her as one of the Maidens or something."

Before Kai could retort, Robin cut in. "No, Lincoln's reaction is understandable. This Fire tome is one of the more basic spells." She closed said tome with her free hand. "Ferrum, could you hand me the Arcwind? It's the green cover with a circle and cross."

Patting his daughter's head—who was in the middle of a raspberry contest with Lincoln—Ferrum obliged, taking the Fire tome and laying it with the others.

Without further ado, Robin began casting the wind tome. Already she could feel the difference in level. The Fire spell was simple in design and execution, and one that most any beginning Mage could cast with ease. Arcwind, on the other hand, was a much more complex spell. To control and contain the magic required finesse only the more advanced Mages possessed. A lesser Mage would find the magical energies fizzling out or worse, losing control of the spell and getting eviscerated by rogue bladed winds. A fact she explained to the teenagers and Ferrum as she cast the spell.

The magic in the air was significantly more powerful than the Fire tome. She could feel her skin prickle from the energies produced, her hair standing on end as she called out "Arcwind!"

Normally the magic would create the tornado from her fingers, sent at speeds faster than a pegasus could fly, but in consideration of collateral damage she instead directed the spell to form directly over the leftover flames of the previous spell. A spinning vortex of winds spun into existence, the only warning being a ring of runes flashing a fraction of a second before. The flames were immediately extinguished, the grass and the ground gouged and torn apart by the synthetic cyclone.

And yet Robin felt only a breeze, the magic doing its work to contain the destruction. While it may have seemed counterintuitive, the spell was made to be launched close to the caster. It wouldn't do to kill its own user.

"Woah! That one's even cooler!" Kai's legs bounced as she watched the spell fade.

Lincoln scratched his head. "Yeah, I have to admit that's pretty cool."

"Well you haven't seen anything yet." Robin grinned. "How about I show you my favorite spell? Ferrum, could you hand me the yellow tome with the spear?"

With Thoron sitting comfortably on her cast, Robin took a deep dramatic breath. Casting higher level magic was always a rush, the feeling of destructive energies coursing through your body. Miriel said it was the magic "supercharging the endocrine system and infusing the bloodstream with adrenaline". Henry said it was because it usually meant someone was gonna die when you cast a spell. Whatever the cause, Robin couldn't deny the thrill that ran through her veins as the air lit up with powerful lightning magic.

If Arcwind made her skin prickle, Thoron, pardon the pun, electrified her skin, filling her nostrils with the heavy metallic stench of magic. Collected within her hand was the entirety of the spell compacted into a ball of magical energy, excited sparks leaping to her fingers despite the spell containing the magic from breaking free.

Thoron was too powerful to simply be aimed anywhere inside the village. So Robin aimed upwards and with a shout the spell was released, a spear of lightning as wide as Robin was tall screaming towards a cloud in the sky like a reverse thunderstorm. The boom echoed throughout the village, and the teens covered their ears. She braced herself for the backlash, the resultant winds causing her robe to flutter briefly.

Then it was over, lingering sparks dissipating. In the far off distance, a hole in the clouds was the only indication the spell had been cast.

Robin turned to wide eyes. Lincoln's mouth was agape, and even Ferrum tilted his head in appreciation.

"That…was…AWESOME!" Kai jumped out from Ferrum's side, hopping up and down with such enthusiasm as if she were hyped up on Thoron itself.

"I…wow…" Lincoln closed his mouth. "Add that to the list of things I don't wanna get hit by."

"That is very impressive, Robin," Ivory added.

Robin nodded. "Thank you, Ivory."

" _Showusyourotherspells_!" Ferrum dragged Kai back down almost reflexively, as if he'd done so many times before, clamping a strong hand on the vibrating girl. Robin couldn't help but smile. Morgan never _quite_ reached that level of enthusiasm, but he got close.

"Actually, I'd like to test out how my magic interacts with Dust if you don't mind." While Robin didn't doubt the potency of her world's spells—especially having been on the receiving end of almost every single one she's used—any advantage she could get would be invaluable.

Ferrum lifted the steel case. "Gotcha the four basic types and a couple 'a the more exotic ones." He opened the case, revealing several crystals of varying colors as well as vials of powdery…Dust. _Huh, wonder if that's how it got the name_.

The following several minutes were spent learning how to use the raw Dust. It was surprisingly simple, the power within the crystals reacting naturally to Robin's magic and Aura. Soon she was throwing out some basic fireballs and electrical discharges.

She could definitely see why such a resource would be a game changer. While her brief little experimentation was nowhere near the level of firepower most mages could bring to bear, the ease with which she was able to learn Dust magic meant that it could be easily incorporated into the average soldier's training regimen. Even if most of the rank and file could only cast the equivalent of a Fire spell, that's still orders of magnitude more Fire spells than there would be otherwise. Whoever controlled Dust would then essentially control the battlefield, the disparity in power would be that high.

Robin stared at the lightning Dust crystal in her hand, pulsing so gently it was almost lost in the afternoon light. Perhaps it was a good thing there was the Grimm to act as the unifying enemy.

Potential ramifications of glowy rocks aside, the next hour was spent mixing her Anima magic and Remnant's Dust magic while Ferrum assured curious villagers the giant lightning spear from earlier wasn't something to worry about. While she wasn't the academic Miriel or her son Laurent were, Robin still possessed a good amount of intuition and skill regarding magic, and with how easy Dust responded it was simple to incorporate it into the spell casting.

For the most part, the results of their experimentation made sense. Lightning Dust enhanced her lightning spells, fire Dust with fire spells, and wind Dust with wind spells. Not only that, but casting those spells was much easier with the same element of Dust. Applying Dust to spells of different elements created a mix of the two. For example, earth Dust mixing with the Fire tome formed a ball of molten rock, Elthunder and ice Dust made blue-tinged forks of electricity that created frozen works of ice where they landed, and the so-called gravity Dust combined with Arcwind to create a vortex of darkness that had actually threatened to suck them all in, and ended up consuming a good chunk of the nearby masonry.

Some of the more amusing combinations were the ones of "opposite" elements.

"Huh." Ferrum rubbed his chin. "Ya don't see that every day."

"No you don't," Robin agreed.

"I mean…" Kai scratched her head. "It kinda makes sense?"

Ivory tilted her head. "I suppose it does."

"The ice is on fire," Lincoln said.

And indeed, the ice _was_ on fire, however paradoxical it seemed. Robin wasn't quite sure what she expected when she combined Dying Flame and ice Dust, but a beautifully twisting spire of ice—that was also on fire—was pretty okay in terms of results. The curious thing was that the ice looked to be unaffected by the heat which Robin could feel even twenty paces away.

"Out of curiosity, what usually happens when you mix ice and fire Dust?" Robin asked Ferrum.

The elder Huntsman shrugged. "If ya mean usin' 'em at the same time, they usually just cancel each other out 'less ya use 'em with another type 'a Dust."

They stared at the affront to common sense for a while longer.

"You know, we should probably put it out," Robin said.

"How?!" Lincoln threw out his hands towards the ice. "It's ice, _on fire_!"

Ivory brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "With water, perhaps."

"But what if the water catches on fire?" Kai asked.

"That is…a good question."

In the end, Robin used another Arcwind to get rid of the remains of what Kai decided to call Frozen Blaze, the flames fortunately flickering out from the powerful winds. Unfortunately the ice structure also ended up getting pulverized and pelting them with makeshift hail, but at least nothing else was on fire. For now.

Brushing off the stray ice, Ferrum gestured to the village. "Well s'almost time fer my patrol, so I'll leave ya with the kids." He ruffled his daughter's hair. "Behave yerselves."

"Yeah, yeah, Dad! Ah! Stoppit!"

After waving goodbye, Kai clapped her hands. "Alright! Who wants to take Robin on a tour of our home?"

Lincoln shook his head. "Sorry Kai, but Ivory 'n me were gonna go play some video games after this. Gonna have to run this one solo."

Kai's shoulders slumped. "Aw come on, really?"

"Our apologies, Kai."

"Fine. See ya guys!"

"Have fun you two," Robin called out.

Left alone with the girl, Robin asked with a smile, "You know, you never asked _me_ if I wanted to go on a tour."

Kai's eyes widened as her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. "O-oh, I-I'm sorry! I forgot to, I mean, I just…" She trailed off, hands wringing her skirt.

Robin laughed. "Don't worry, I'd love to. Just slow down a bit, alright?"

"Okay…"

They collected Robin's tomes and stuffed them into the bag Ferrum left. As for her sword, she returned it into its sheath by her side. It was lighter, but the familiar weight was comforting.

As they crossed the bridge, Robin could see the blue-haired girl was still dejected. Taking pity, she spoke up.

"You know, you remind me of my son."

Kai perked up. "I do? Wait, you have a kid?!"

"Yes to both. He's about your age, actually, maybe a few years younger."

"Waitaminute, _how_ old are you?"

Robin grinned as she said, "About twenty."

Kai stopped in place as she counted her fingers. She froze, then snapped her head up, a look of utter confusion plastered on her face. " _How_?!"

"Time traveling children, remember?"

The girl's eyes widened in comprehension. "Ohhhh. So wait, how do I remind you of your son?"

Robin chuckled. "Well, for one, you both have similar hairstyles and hair color, though his is shorter." Robin's eyes stared off into the distance as she recalled her precious boy. "You also both have such infectious enthusiasm others can't help but get caught up in it. And finally the both of you love your parents very much…"

The last sentence was spoken wistfully, Robin's steps slowing as she stared up to the blue sky. _Morgan, Gods, what must you be doing without your mother?_ He was so heartbroken when he—when they lost _her_. Perhaps even more than Robin was. Robin couldn't imagine what he must be feeling now, the mother he looked up to and loved with all his heart gone.

Kai glanced worriedly at Robin. "U-um, so how about his dad?"

That shook Robin out of her thoughts. "Dad? What do you…oh!" Robin smiled. "Morgan doesn't have a father. He has two mothers." She held up her left hand, the sunlight glinting off the simple piece of jewelry on a certain finger.

"This ring belongs to my wife, Lucina."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the answer of with whom did Robin S-supported with has been answered! Honestly, not much of a twist, hopefully I left enough hints in the previous chapters that you could guess. I know this ship might be a bit controversial, and if it's a deal breaker, well I hope you enjoyed the story, and farewell. For everyone else, don't worry, I'm not going to let shipping overwhelm the story. Before anyone asks how Morgan was conceived, either magic or alternate timelines. Pick yer poison.
> 
> Next up, with volume 3 I've decided where the canon cutoff point is. The events of RWBY volumes 1 and 2 are canon to Azure Bonds. Don't count on anything after volume 3, or even details of what happened in volume 3 to be in the Remnant I'm writing. I may take parts of future volumes I like, but otherwise I'm gonna be making my own stuff.
> 
> I've made several major/minor edits to chapter 1 and chapter 2. The spell Robin used against the first Beowolf is just a Thunder spell to better reflect the "power levels" of the spells I've hammered out. A single Elthunder would definitely kill a Beowolf now. Thoron would oneshot the Alpha Beowolf, Giant Nevermore, or a Deathstalker with a good hit. I've made changes in the chapter 2 descriptions for Lincoln's appearance and Semblance as well as Kai's bow.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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